2013 US Open Week 1

by Savannah

Day 1

The USTA needs to stop trying to make Lauren Davis happen. Watching her being dismantled by Carla Suarez-Navarro was painful to watch. Lauren, like fellow American Taylor Townsend, makes beautiful shots. What she needs to learn to do is put them together into a cohesive whole. In other words construct points, have a plan to get from A to B to C. Try to think one or two plays ahead instead of making a beautiful shot only to have it whiz by you because your opponent has positioned themselves not only to return it but to get it past you for a winner.

And it's not just the women. American men are having the same issues. They don't know how to think on court. When they are pressured you see frustration and melt downs not to mention thrown racquets or balls hit in anger. I keep thinking about the woman who was raging to no one in particular after Taylor Townsend lost her last qualifying match. She kept saying that Americans don't have the mental toughness of the Europeans. They don't.


via France24.com

Venus Williams drew Kirsten Flipkens in the first round. Unseeded and with physical issues that can render her ineffective on court no matter how strongly she wants to play no one knows what to expect from her. Playing Flipkens, who beat her in three sets in Toronto, I know I was hoping that Venus didn't embarrass herself. She didn't.

I would say Venus came dressed as the Pink Ranger but the dress was actually a floral print of the kind that is popular today. It also had a lingerie feel to it, another popular motif being shown for Fall.

For today Venus was her old domineering self. She defeated Flipkens in straight sets. I was glad to see her back to her old self. I hope she hangs around.

One of the bigger surprises for me was Ernests Gulbis loss to Andreas Haider-Maurer. I shouldn't say big surprise because during his hit with Jeremy Chardy the other day he was not happy with himself and was cursing up a storm. I didn't see the match today so I don't know what happened but he was missing stupidly Friday. I don't know if Haider-Maurer played the match of his life or not. I'm sure Ernests was practicing his cuss words again today.

The younger Williams sister opened the night session. As usual there was an opening ceremony which, as usual, I refused to watch. I was watching a food show I DVR'd Sunday so when I got to the tennis Serena Williams was in the process of pounding Francesca Schiavone into the pavement. For a minute there it looked as if Fran would be the second woman to be served a double bagel on Day 1 but she managed to get one game. That only infuriated Serena who closed out the match love and one in an hour. It seems the gods were on Serena's side because as soon as her match ended it began to rain. The second night matches were cancelled and rescheduled for Day 2. I hope people took note that after the match was over Serena didn't jump up and down, shake her fist in her opponents face or disrespect her in any way. Sportsmanship. It's a beautiful thing.

I should mention that there was a lot of talk about Serena's kit too. I'm not a fan of handkerchief hems. Never have been. But the cut of the skirt works on Serena. It's not something I would recommend for anyone else.

Day 2


via Mike Segar Reuters

This was my Day at the Open. it almost didn't happen because despite great seats at Ashe there was no one playing on that court we particularly wanted to see. We went so far as to try and sell our tickets back but waited too long to post them for sale and with no buyers we got on the #7 train and headed out to Willett's Point.

I could go on about how hard it is to watch Caroline Wozniacki play live but I won't. The woman she played, Duan Ying-Ying, hits a very hard flat ball. She's also tall like Li Na. Hopefully she'll play more top tier matches and gain confidence in her game and shot making. With more confidence she could've pulled off a big upset.

We wanted to see Gaël Monfils match but we met a friend for a snack so we went to Armstrong to wait for Victoria Duval's match.

Oh. My God.

Before Victoria took the court we suffered through one of the worst matches I've ever seen. Sara Errani took the court against Olivia Rogowska who was playing in place of Ayumi Morita who withdrew due to injury. Errani has no serve. None. And she's in the top five. Rogowska has no game though so I guess that's why the match turned into a romp for Errani.

Not that Rogowska didn't have her chances. At one point she had a chance to break. Or win the game. I don't even remember. All I remember is that Errani won that game and I face palmed. If Ms Duan had played Rogowska she would've won. That's how bad Rogowska was.

Once the stench was cleared from the court Victoria Duval took the court to play Samantha Stosur, the 2011 US Open Champion. People are going to make excuses about what happened, temporary coach and all that, but they'd be missing the point. The match was a war. Stosur had a ton of unforced errors - 56 if I remember correctly - but that is how tough Duval was playing her. Vicky was not afraid to stand toe to toe with Stosur who may have been guilty of looking past her first round opponent.

Vicky, with her father Jean-Maurice standing almost the entire match, played aggressively. She adjusted to whatever Stosur threw at her. An example: Duval tried a drop shot that didn't work and on the very next play made the very same shot. Duval made some nice shots but in context of the match she was playing. She wasn't making shots just to make pretty shots. She was using them as weapons in an arsenal that few thought she had, especially at her age.

I came in a fan. I've been following Duval since she was a young girl. I think I can say I was one of the first to blog about her in the early days of this site. By the middle of the second set Victoria had the Armstrong crowd lifting and carrying her on its back. During the third set it was a sight to behold as the ever swelling crowd lived and died with every shot. There were vocal Stosur fans in the crowd, especially one kid sitting behind me but their voices were drowned out by the shouts, cheers, moans and groans of the now pro Duval crowd.

To be hones I don't think Stosur knew what hit her. They'd set her up with a seemingly easy draw and I don't think she was expecting the teen with the high pitched voice to be able to neutralize her game and defeat her.

I wanted to hold off writing about Mlle. Duval until she played her next match but she deserves the glory she's receiving. She knows how to play and understands tennis at the pro level. She needs some work on her first serve but the rest of her game seems solid.

Along with everyone else I'm looking forward to her next match. I wonder what court she'll play on?

End Notes

James Blake announced that he will retire after the US Open. Wild Cards have kept him playing on the Main Tour, especially in the United States. I don't have much to say about Blake because I've never been a fan. Still he used his modest skills to have what many would call a successful tennis career. He's said that he wants to be Davis Cup Coach one day.

Good luck to James in his future endeavors.

Rain is predicted for Wednesday afternoon. It's likely I will be back out to Queens on Friday.

Oh Canada!

by Savannah


via The Guardian

Lets start with Samantha Stousur's win over nemesis Victoria Azarenka in Carlsbad Sunday afternoon.

Better yet lets go to Victoria Azarenka's victory over Ana Ivanovic on Saturday. Azarenka needed three sets to win that match, a win that leap frogged her over Maria Sharapova and into the #2 ranking behind Serena Williams. Victoria had already been seeded #2 in Toronto but after losing to Stosur she withdrew citing a bad back. You don't have to be a match whiz to know why Azarenka would, uh, find her back giving her a problem after that three set win and err on the side of caution. I get it. If Sharapova sits out Cincinnati as well I'd like to be the second seed at Flushing Meadows too.

Sorry for that long aside Samantha. You played well despite your opponent being injured. In fact no one has seen you play that well in ages. Playing to win not playing scared is a good thing.


via ATP World Tour

Way across the sea Marcel Granollers defeated the King of Kitzbühel Robin Haase of the Netherlands on his way to winning the title there. He faced Juan Monaco in the final.


via Seattlepi.com

Washington DC in the summer has all the charm and personality of the swamp it sits on. It's nasty hot and humid. During the Citiopen they love to show images of a cool stream flowing through nearby Rock Creek Park but those in the know aren't fooled.

There are players who seem to thrive there though. One of them is Magdalena Rybarikova. She won the title last year and repeated this year, defeating Andrea Petkovic in the final.


via France24.com

The other player who thrives here is Juan Martin del Potro. He defeated American favorite John Isner in three sets after playing his semi final against Tommy Haas into the wee hours of the morning thanks to a rain delay. Isner finished his match before the rains came and got a good rest but you wouldn't have known it by the way he crumbled from the end of the first set to the end of the third set. Delpo blew Isner off the court rendering his aces a footnote to the match. Delpo's forehands coupled with his movement left Isner rooted in place, unable to react quickly. Then again the way Delpo was hitting the ball his racquet would've been knocked out of his hands. Congratulations Juan on your third Citiopen title.

There is something that I heard one of the ESPN2 comms say that has to be mentioned. They were all gushing on how well Isner is doing of late and one said that he seemed to be doing something different the last few weeks asking out loud if it was better fitness and possibly scouting players that was behind the change. POSSIBLY scouting players? Why would scouting players be a new thing for Isner? What he just walks on court thinking he'll blow them away so there's no need to look at an opponent to see what tactics should be used? If that is how he rolls that's not even arrogance. It's stupidity.

Rogers Cup 2013

The Europeans are on North American soil! Play begins Monday April 5 in Montréal, Quebec and Toronto, Ontario. Both are of course part of the country of Canada and not a part of the United States.

I should like this event but it's always been "meh" for me. Maybe it has to do with the strong arm tactics the USTA and Tennis Canada used to try and strong arm the top players into coming by messing with the European spring clay court calendar or maybe it's the way they've split the venues so that on a good day you'll need your computer, tablet and television to watch matches.

The tournament(s) are a huge part of the US Open series with the distinction of having the top players in the world on their courts. It's going to be interesting to see who makes the trip from Canada to the normally hot and humid Mid West of the United States.

Still it's tennis, in my time zone, no waking up at some obscene hour of the morning and falling asleep in the middle of the first game of the first set. I'll be sitting at home having a leisurely day of it watching what I hope is high quality tennis.


Idle Chit Chat

Remember when Serena caught hell from the tennis media and some fans for skipping out on a tournament while legitimately injured and showing up at a wedding? Remember that? Well guess what? Maria Sharapova begged off Toronto due to injury sustained at Wimbledon. She was supposed to do P.R. work in Toronto as is the norm when you pull out of a major. It helps fulfill your commitment and avoid a fine. Guess where she was this weekend?

Dancing at a wedding. In some kind of get up with the bride's head dress on. Or something.
Meanwhile all I hear are screams of delight from fans because her image will be in Toronto next to the booth featuring her candy. Rolling eyes. Hard. Oh, I didn't see any pictures of her with her fiancé at the wedding.

If you follow Twitter you know Patrick Mouratoglou is quite chatty. He promotes his players and drops in little personal asides from time to time. I'm trying to picture Ivan Lendl on Twitter. I'd better stop doing that or I'll end up like BMO and fry my circuits.


Miscellany

An interesting interview with Li Na's husband Jiang Shan popped up on a fan site:

Author: Chinese women’s tennis, as a whole, is quite strong nowadays, but what about men’s tennis? What’s holding them back?

JS: The knowledge of how to be successful is there. What’s lacking is someone with enough courage and conviction to go ahead and do those things. Starting young, training abroad, taking losses and grinding out wins in tournaments all around the world – it just takes someone committed enough to take that risk and not give up. I think it’s a cultural issue.

Author: What do you mean ‘a cultural issue’?

If a young Chinese player tried to break through internationally for 2 years, without getting the right results, he will come to the conclusion that he does not have the talent, and give up. A young North American in the same situation will instead think that it is because he is not working hard enough. The North American was brought up in a culture which has always taught him that he can do anything if he sets his mind to it. Not so in China. My generation (on the ATP tour, Jiang Shan topped off at #987 in the world back in 2001) was brought up with a “weak country” mindset. Everything was “beat the US,” or “beat England,” but when they showed up, we might as well have called them uncle. We just didn’t think we were good enough to compete. Nowadays, it’s better. China’s GDP has gone up and there’s more belief in us being on the same level as other global powers. I have a feeling that Chinese kids born after 1995 will not have the same negative mentality as we did growing up. After that, success will just be a matter of time.

Author: What about table tennis or badminton? Is there more success for Chinese players in those sports because the mindset is different?

JS: No. The reason why China does so well in those sports is simply because North Americans and Europeans generally don’t care for them. Outside of China, sports are market-driven. If there is no interest, there is no money. If there’s no money, then there will be less high-level players; the best athletes will go to other sports. If Americans or Europeans decided that they want to be a global power in table tennis, they could do it within a few years. Look at Old Wa (Jan-Ove Waldner http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jan-Ove_Waldner). He’s been playing at the highest level for 30 years, and beaten all the best Chinese players. But it’s just him. Everyone else in Sweden is playing hockey.

Author: Do you think Li Na winning a Grand Slam title would’ve been possible without the “Fly Alone” strategy (Note: in 2008, Li Na partially broke away from the traditional centralized Chinese tennis program in order to set her own tournament schedule as well as manage her commercial interests and training routines)

JS: You need to take risks and get away from a culture which promotes mediocrity and “just getting by.” The French Open victory would never have happened has we stayed with the Chinese federation. Tennis is an individual sport and you have to do things differently if you want to have an uncommon level of success.

I've been tempted to talk about Chinese tennis but due to lack of familiarity I haven't. Jiang's comments are honest and open, the way he appears to be. I wonder why he wasn't asked if height affects the Chinese men? Nishikori Kei isn't a big guy and he's doing okay but he trained in the States. David Ferrer isn't a giant but it took him years to get where he is today. Until or unless more is known about the Chinese tennis scene Jiang's comments stand as the best analysis to date.

Haters Gonna Hate...

by Savannah

The first of the Masters 1000 tournaments was held in the wealthy California enclave of Indian Wells, California. This post is not about the city of Indian Wells or the Coachella Valley but about the semi finals and finals of the the WTA and the ATP at the yearly tournament held at this location.


When Victoria Azarenka had to withdraw due to injury the only person who could've denied Maria Sharapova the title was gone. Samantha Stosur also withdrew at the quarterfinal round due to injury so we ended up with semifinals of Sharapova vs Sara Errani and Caroline Wozniacki against Angelique Kerber.

The semi final of interest was Wozniacki vs Kerber. Kerber has a pretty large bandwagon going at this time despite her game having nothing spectacular to recommend it. She's a good, solid player who seems to, like Stosur, fight her way to a quarterfinal, semi or final, and then implode. There are only three women in the WTA who aren't prone to that type of mental lapse and one of them made it to the final.

I'll get to that in a minute. What I'd like to discuss is the match itself. It's my opinion that this match did more to harm the reputation of women's tennis than anything in the recent past. Why? Moonballs. I don't mind them when they're a tactic worked into a rally but when they become THE tactic it's just not watchable tennis.

This match showed that Kerber has a lot to work on. There is a way not to be caught in moon ball hell - we saw it in Sunday's final - but Kerber couldn't think her way out of that particular brown paper bag. Still there were former WTA champions tweeting that Wozniacki had played attacking, aggressive tennis. In some alternate universe maybe but not in this one. I can be annoyed about the match all I want but in the end it was Kerber who needed to step up and she didn't. All's fair in love and war and we all know tennis has nothing to do with love.

There's not much to be said about Sharapova vs Errani. Sharapova used her height and will to overcome Errani who was overmatched from the minute play started.

So to the women's final between Maria Sharapova and Caroline Wozniacki. If the dictionary description of what the word intimidation means leaves you with questions watch this match. I think that Sharapova has been wanting to show that just like she got intimidated by Serena Williams last year she can intimidate as well. And believe me she was all that and more. It was the most brutal match I've seen in a while. Wozniacki tried early to go the moon ball route and the balls came back so fast she abandoned the idea. I expected her at any moment to run off the court and once in the fetal position whimper "Please don't hurt me" in the tunnel so thorough was the beat down. If it had been a street fight the EMT's would've been called. If it was a boxing match the cut man would've had his work, well, cut out for him.

I think Sharapova has been looking to get the anger from her beat down out for a long time. Like her or not she can play tennis and she never, not once, let Wozniacki come up for air. In the end there was nothing to say except "brava" and "whoa". Not even Wozniacki's father could go completely into his act. There was nothing he could suggest that would spare his daughter the humiliation she was going through.

Maria Sharapova showed that she can indeed play the intimidation game. It's going to be very interesting if she ends up across the net from the woman for whom the phrase Terror Fabulous was coined in Miami.



I don't think too many people saw Rafael Nadal making the men's final at Indian Wells. Sure he loves it there, stays at the home of the tournament director and revels in the desert heat but he's been laid up for seven months with injury and just came back on the tour. Indian Wells would be his first big test on a hard court and no one knew how the knee would hold up. He was tentative at the beginning of his return during the South American Spring Swing and there was fear that he'd be the same here.

Besides the current top four men were there. Novak Djokovic, the top ranked man, Roger Federer, Andy Murray who looked to be poised to make a run for the top ranking, and David Ferrer.

Ferrer came in still mentally reeling from the beat down he took in Acapulco and had none of his usual spark. The ultimate confidence player, he exited the scene quickly. Federer got his usual cake walk to the quarters where he faced his nemesis. Novak Djokovic put on his usual acting display for his his fans and made it deep into the tournament as well.

Andy Murray was an interesting case. He showed up much more muscular that he's ever been, his shirt barely able to contain his upper body. He made it to the quarter finals relatively unscathed despite some slow starts and signs of rust after a seven week lay off.But his lack of match play caught up with him in the end when a very much in form Juan Martin del Potro send Murray back to his home in Miami.

Certain circles within the tennis establishment were salivating at the thought of Roger Federer facing Rafael Nadal in the latter's supposed weakened competitive state. I guess Federer wondered where that enfeebled guy was. The man he faced took him out 6-4, 6-2.

So the final came down to Rafael Nadal vs Juan Martin del Potro. Delpo took out Djokovic by the way. Delpo didn't fall for Djokovic's okey doke and despite the fact Djokovic embarrassed Jo-Wilfried Tsonga held on to defeat him. To digress for a minute it can be said that Tsonga embarrassed himself. Many of us watching wondered if the ATP still fined players for lack of effort.

So we get to the final. Delpo and Nadal had faced each other in an exho in New York City's Madison Square Garden and Delpo won it. Dogma is that exho's don't matter but the hit and giggle was brought up by comms several times. In the end it didn't matter. Rafa dropped the first set but fought his way to the win. Anyone who thinks the win didn't mean a lot to him had only to witness his scream of joy prone on the court when it was over.



Of course haters are saying that the slow hard court helped Rafa. It's a hard court, the surface people say Rafa sucks on. Get over it people.

In the end there are three ATP players who need to take a look at where they are.
Tomas Berdych, Jo-Wilfried Tsonga and Roger Federer. In the WTA everyone not named Victoria Azarenka, Maria Sharapova or Serena Williams needs a long hard look in the mirror.A lot of people were picking Kerber to break into the upper reaches of the game but there's no there there. The French system isn't producing champions. They all have distinctive, attractive games but the way Tsonga totally unravelled in his match is cause for concern.

As for Aga Radwanska I guess I'm that person. The minute I saw her in soft flats at the players party I knew she wouldn't do much during the tournament. And she's still wearing flats in Miami. Put this in your just saying file. A glamor girl like Aga doesn't wear flats for no reason. I'm not saying she won't win matches. I just think there's something going on with her.



Since Indian Wells is working hard to really be a fifth Slam mention should be made of the brothers Bryan who won the men's doubles crown.


Elena Vesnina and Ekaterina Makarova took the women's doubles event.

End Notes

I apologize for this post being so late. I started it right after the last ball was struck and I'm just getting to finish it today. Life intervened. Nothing serious, just busy.

The tour has moved on to Miami, the IMG run event that is always good for strange fields since they use it to showcase their talented youth. Federer and Nadal aren't there. Victoria Azarenka has a bum ankle.

Still already there've been some interesting things going on. Madison Keys, who got a wild card into the event, fed fellow US player Ally Kiick a double bagel.
Victoria Duval, someone I've been watching since she was a preteen won her match against Andrea Hlavackova 7-6(4), 6-4, a huge win for her. Brit Heather Watson lost a match 6-1, 5-7, 4-6 to Ayumi Morita of Japan, a match she had been winning 6-1, 4-1, and said she was taking a break from tennis due to burn out then changed her mind and said she wasn't taking a break. This was Watson's comment after the match:

Asked about losing the pattern of the match after such a dominant start she said: "I was playing really well, probably the best I've played this year, and I think I lost my concentration a bit, but that was enough for her to gain some confidence and step forward, and it kind of pushed me back and I started to play a lot worse.
"I still tried to fight but it just wasn't good enough, I wasn't aggressive enough."

Meanwhile 2012 Newcomer of the Year Laura Robson won her opening round match. I can't imagine the pressure these young women are under from the LTA.

On the men's side Ryan Harrison is already out of the tournament losing what some saw as a winnable opening round match against James Blake. Blake won 2&2. That's not even a fight. Like the French the USTA system is not producing winners. There are some promising Americans but they're women (Stephens and Keys) and everyone knows the mens game is what everyone looks at when it comes to tennis right? There were sighs of relief when Sam Querrey won a match that let him stay in the top twenty of the ATP rankings. That means tennis in the US is still good right?

Congratulations go out to Justine Henin and her partner Benoit Bertuzzo who announced the birth of their first child, a daughter Lalie, yesterday March 20. I like the name.

In a brief return to sanity the WTA has folded its Dallas event that took place the week before the US Open. The tournament's place on the calendar never made any sense and I'm glad someone decided to pull the plug. There is already an event in the Bronx that week. Wonder if they'll upgrade it to International level? Just a thought...

The Asia Swing Part 1

by Savannah


I'm a tennis junkie. There is no Twelve Step Program to help people like me. We get up at ridiculous hours to watch matches played somewhere where the time difference can be twelve hours or more.

Except this year I'm not doing it. I didn't watch any of the ATP matches in Bangkok or Kuala Lumpur. I watched one match per night from Tokyo, sometimes only one set per night of a match. And I'm not apologizing for it. I understand the importance given to Asia by both tours but from what I see the people of Asia haven't exactly warmed to the sport, at least not enough to fill the huge stadiums where matches are played. The stands are sometimes embarrassingly empty.

Keep in mind that I only watched the WTA event in Tokyo. It could be that more people showed up in South Asia and I'm sure readers will let me know.

That said I have to say that Nadia Petrova played like the player that reached #3 in the rankings in Tokyo. One of the best matches lots of fans never saw was her match against Sara Errani. It went three sets and was a war from beginning to end. Errani will always have to scramble because of her height but in the end Petrova was hitting groundies that left vapor trails.

The match I'm sure most fans heard about was Nadia's match against Samantha Stosur and not because Nadia destroyed her. Stosur, mentally fried and apparently having a problem with her back left the court. The always lovable Ricardo Sanchez, the man who destroyed Jelena Jankovic's career and verbally harassed Venus Williams during a match between the two "forgot" he was mic'd and said something about waiting for this "fucking bitch" referring to Stosur.

Stosur fans are a lot like Roger Federer fans. I said a lot like not just like. No fandom is as, how can I say, fanatical as Federer fans. Still from the reaction on Twitter you would've thought Sanchez cursed her mother or something. Petrova cracked up after Sanchez made the comment. The Tennis TV comm said that the comment reflected real life tennis talk. I saw less of a reaction when it was revealed that Victor Krason counseled his daughter Caroline Wozniacki to throw a match, something that only Polish speakers would understand and that changed betting patterns in Europe among those in the know. As for Sanchez doing a Flavor Flav complete with oversized stopwatch/clock it was basically crickets except for dedicated Venus Williams fans.

But I digress. Calling someone a "fucking bitch" is normal now. It can be a term of endearment. It can be an expletive. It depends on intent. Sanchez wasn't using it as a term of endearment but really people get over it. He could've used the word that starts with "c" that I absolutely hate. Grow up people.

Anyway back to Nadia Petrova. She was the best player in Tokyo and deserved her win over Agniezska Radwanska in the final.


Richard Gasquet won Bangkok.

Juan Monaco won Kuala Lumpur.

This and That

Serena Williams withdrew from Beijing. And the bashing has begun again. How quickly some in the tennis world, fans, writers and comms alike, forget how much tennis Serena played this spring and summer. She won Wimbledon,singles and doubles, Olympic Gold, singles and doubles and the US Open. It's sad that this has to be repeated over and over isn't it? Haters you know where to line up.

Did anyone really think Roger Federer wasn't going to play in Asia to defend his ranking? If you did I've got a bridge to sell you. Or maybe you'd like that beach front property in Arizona? I also never hear any criticism of the long breaks Federer takes between events. I think it's called managing his time well. I guess Serena has no idea how to manage her time well. Or shouldn't. Victoria Azarenka has cited "general fatigue" for her withdrawal from Tokyo. Yet it's only Serena who is called a "malingerer". Go figure.

Well That Was One Hell of a Week...

by Savannah

Dear Serena

Please let your cook know that I would like my crow oven fried please. And I'd like a rather large serving of it.

Sincerely,

Savannah

At some point during the semifinal of the Family Circle Cup in Charleston, South Carolina Brad Gilbert Tweeted the line of the year. Paraphrasing he wanted to let Samantha Stosur know that the keys to the woodshed were being held for her. Serena Williams let it be known that while she is not in the Golden Circle she is still a tennis force to be reckoned with. I don't think Samantha knew what hit her. Harnessing her power and playing with the precision of a surgeon Serena cut her to shreds, beat her like she stole something. As long time tennis fans know the danger of a dominant first set is that the player can lose focus and let their opponent into the match in the second set. That most certainly did not happen to Serena.

But there was more to it than that. Sascha Baijin, Serena's hitting partner, persuaded Serena to mix Luxillon strings with gut to help cut down on the errors off her racquet. She listened to him and it looks as if the new stringing arrangement is working well.

But it doesn't stop there. Serena played a mature game, a thinking person's game. The woman who used to blow her opponents off the court with raw power still blows them away. But the power is now tempered with nuance and subtlety, a deftness and lightness of touch that has developed in her game over the last few years. She and her coach, father Richard Williams, have tinkered with her approach to her matches from what I can see, and Serena, unlike some of her peers, has listened to the suggestions of those around her and done what has to be done to continue building her legend.

After Polona Hercog embarrassed herself and women's tennis by going ass up to Lucie Safarova in the other semi final (I don't know how she wasn't fined for malingering. She made absolutely no effort to play Lucie) I had to stop myself from saying they should just hand the trophy to Serena. You never know what is going to happen in a tennis match so it's never a good idea to assume an outcome.
It was apparent by five minutes into the final that Serena's concentration was not broken. I do hope that Samantha left the keys for Lucie.

I don't want to get carried away. Some of the American announcers started raving about Serena's prospects during the spring clay court season in Europe. The surface they played on in Charleston didn't allow for sliding. It's not the same as the red clay of Europe. Serena has won the French before. Can she win it again? Serena can do anything she puts her mind to.



The Power of the Suit

France overreached.

I said as soon as I heard itthat France would play it's Davis Cup tie against the United States at the Monte Carlo country club. The French players are not good clay courters. Their stars, Jo-Wilfried Tsonga and Gilles Simon are much better on hard courts. The United States reputation and record on dirt is abysmal. No American even bothers to come to play Monte Carlo.

But Jim Courier called bullshit on all that and once again his team of big serving hard courters stunned France walking away with a 3-2 win.
Are people quaking in their boots now about American's on clay? Should John Isner have stayed in France and played Monte Carlo with fresh legs or was it wise to have him fly back to Houston, Texas for the US Clay Court Championships? Time will tell. I can say that Courier is getting something out of this Davis Cup team that no one in their right mind would've thought possible.

Maybe it's the suit.

This and That

I'm still waiting to see what Victoria Azarenka gets from adding Amelie Mauresmo to her team. Tactics on clay? I don't think so. Strength of mind? Let's not go there. The French crowd on her side so that there are no more embarrassing moments like in Miami? ::Shrug:: This is one I really don't get.



Svetlana Kuznetsova has fired coach Olga Morozova and hired Israeli Amos Mansdorf. This move I understand. Sveta's game seems to have gone backwards. When Sveta is on she can play with the best of them. I hope Mansdorf gets her back on track.

The USTA is looking for officials. If you think you're up for it click HERE for details on how to apply and educational information.

Sergiy Stakhovsky gave an interview in Russian that was posted on a Ukrainian site. I think that interview was the most read interview ever given by a tennis player. The Russian was translated by a tennishead with the Twitter handle @Anna_TennisFan. I'm going to quote from her translation picking up where Stakhovsky is talking about Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal and Player Council politics.

About Nadal’s offense with Federer…
He wasn’t offended by Federer, exactly. He was disappointed that his ideas – useful for the tour, as he thinks – aren’t heard. It concerns the 2-year ranking, among others. But if you start that, then every player needs to vote, and that’s not entirely correct. Look: in today’s pay for tennis players’ efforts, I personally support this new change. It protects my ranking. The earnings of most players are, really, laughable.
(...)
Going back to Nadal: the Grand Slam tournaments, as we know, pay the players an abnormally low percent of their earnings. For instance, the US Open spends 4-6% of their profit on prize money. The ATP tournaments – around 30%. Since 2004, the prizes in the big tournaments rose less than the inflation.

You lose the reason to enter the top-100. If you travel with a coach – you’ll be in a small “plus”, $20-30 thousand per year. And those are the 100 best people in this sport all over the world. If you take the 100th soccer player, the 100th golfer, any sport that’s on TV – their salaries will be immeasurably greater. Even the 100th soccer player in Ukraine earns more.

The Slams are holding everything, and if they start sharing their profits, it’ll make sense to make it to the top-100. Yes, it will look vulgar if a player who lost in the first round, makes $50-100 thousand, but how much he invested in himself to even play there. To fly to Australia – that’s already a feat. It’s 24 hours. I’m not risking flying economy there, it’s just unrealistic.
If the Slams make concessions, I’m against a 2-year ranking. Because many players will need two years to make it in the top-100. And now people are really working on it. Now, the 70- or the 200-ranked player – are the same.
(...)
Do you often communicate with Federer?
I do it constantly.

And what’s he like?
He’s a good person, but too neutral for my taste. He’s too Swiss. He wants to keep out of any bad stories too much. When players want to change something, he looks at it too passively, because it can harm his image.

I respect Nadal more in that context, because he openly supports the players’ interests.

Needless to say that last part has Federer fans up in arms. But what is surprising is that Nikolay Davydenko said the same things back in January with little or no fanfare.

MELBOURNE, Australia (AP)—Roger Federer’s reticence to join other players in voicing complaints about issues affecting the men’s game came under fire again at the Australian Open on Monday.

Former No. 3-ranked Nikolay Davydenko said he didn’t understand why the 16-time Grand Slam champion wasn’t supporting the push to address player grievances, including the schedule and the distribution of prize money.

Davydenko’s remarks came a day after Rafael Nadal criticized his Swiss rival for sitting back while others speak out and “burn themselves.”

“I don’t know why Roger is not supporting the players,” Davydenko said. “Because he don’t want … any problems. He’s nice guy. He’s winning Grand Slams. He’s from Switzerland. He’s perfect.

“He don’t want to do anything, he just try to be an outsider from this one.”

For the second time in six months, rumors of a possible strike emerged following Saturday’s player meeting in Melbourne. Davydenko said a strike was still a distant prospect, but that the players would meet again at the Indian Wells Masters tournament in March.

“The ATP should try to do something between now and Indian Wells,” he said. “For sure, all the top 100 players will go there and just see what will be changed.”

The Russian said he did not support the idea of a shorter season, a change that is backed by Nadal, Novak Djokovic and Andy Murray, but he agrees that prize money has not increased in line with growing profits at Grand Slam tournaments.

Am I surprised? Not at all. Rafa's resignation from his position on the Council makes more sense now but that's all I can see that is "new". It looks as if the tennis press did all it could to ignore the story. Enrico Mariariva began tweeting Google translations of the interview and they were retweeted and retweeted until fans began to ask to read the original in both Russian and in an English translation. The time is gone when any so called media can ignore a story. News will out and if/when it hits Twitter it's game over. This is both a good and bad thing - some false rumors have gone viral on Twitter - but information on these matters is vital to tennis fans who plan months in advance to attend a tournament especially a major. Journalists aren't supposed to be mouthpieces for the powers that be alone. They are supposed to report the goings on on their beats. This is not done by those covering tennis.

For the entire Stakhovsky interview click HERE

For the full Davydenko remarks here is the LINK

This and That - Melbourne 2011

by Savannah

Someone Tweeted last night that it was amazing how the Australian Open got all of it's first round play over in two days as opposed to the three day format used by some Grand Slams. I had never thought about it but the person was right. The AO may last into the rush hour here on the east coast of the United States (The Lleyton Hewitt/David Nalbandian match ended sometime after 8a this morning) but no one can say that they were totally bored by the tennis. If a match made you reach for your stimulant of choice there was another one available online for your viewing pleasure. If your ISP provider doesn't make ESPN360 available to you there are live streams available of varying quality. I have noticed that the quality of the stream on ESPN360 does tend to decay, something I don't remember it doing before. The buffering, yes. I'm not sure why this is happening but it is annoying. So far the Eurosport based streams are the best. So is the commentary.

If you have HDTV watching is a joy. It truly is the closest thing to being there. ESPN2, and from what I can see Eurosport as well, are broadcasting in full HD. It's as if you can reach out and touch the players. Technology in this case is a beautiful thing.

The star of last nights play is undoubtedly Agnieszka Radwanska. Sure she defeated 40 year old Kimiko Date-Krumm in three hard fought sets but what happened to her in the third set is what tennis fans will remember all season. After banging her racquet on the ground and committing what would be felony assault if she had treated a human being like that Aggie set herself to receive Kimiko's ball. Apparently the racquet was a Cee-Lo fan as it took it's "Fuck You" moment and broke into two pieces. The head of the racquet flew into the crowd leaving Aggie holding what looked like a shake weight. Her expression is priceless. This happened to Anna Lena Groenefeld a couple of years ago but this break took place on world wide television. I'm sure Babolat was not amused.

Okay back to real tennis.

The match between resurrecting favorite Ana Ivanovic and relatively unknown Ekaterina Makarova was quite exciting. Forget that neither one could figure out how to close out the match. It's the WTA. What do you expect? It was totally up in the air as to who would win. On the way there were rally's and great groundies from both women.

Someone in Ana's camp should really talk to her about her celebrations after each point won. At one point I was multi tasking (sounds better than saying I was doing something else right?) and heard a squeal and looked up to see a celebration worthy of someone winning the match. I was confused since it seemed that the match wasn't over. It wasn't. Those of us who tend to multitask don't like surprises.
Other than that Ana actually didn't play badly. Even her ball toss was better (it varied but on the whole it was better).
But the real news was Ekaterina Makarova. She kept her wits about her and pulled off the upset. The match was quite a nice diversion.

I'll stick with the WTA for now. I have to wonder why the women coming out of the States are all diminutive.Lauren Davis looked to be barely five feet tall (she is listed as 5'2") and at seventeen is very slight. She played on Rod Laver Arena against Samantha Stosur. At one point they zoomed in for a close up of Lauren. Deer in headlights. I felt sorry for the young woman. As the ESPN commentators are fond of saying she'll always remember she played on Rod Laver Arena in 2011 against Samantha Stosur.

Pam Shriver got sent out to give American's a look at Melanie Oudin, another short woman. She's now out of singles. It was a brief look since she was on a non television court.

Coco Vandeweghe lost to Alize Cornet 2-6, 1-6.

The United States did have something to cheer about though. Ryan Sweeting moved into the second round with his win last night over Daniel Gimeno-Traver in straight sets. Sweeting was born in Nassau, Bahamas but has trained in the States since he was twelve.

The other big winner on the men's side was Michael Russell who defeated highly touted Australian Matthew Ebden in four sets, winning the final set tie break 11-9.

John Isner also won his match.

Now for what can be called the marquee matches. Once again a Frenchman led the list. Jo-Wilfried Tsonga looked done and dusted after dropping the first two sets against Philipp Petzschner . When I checked the scores this morning I saw that not only did Tsonga take it five sets but that he won 4-6, 2-6, 6-2, 6-3, 6-4.

With French fans singing La Marseillaise cheering him on how could he not come back?

When draws are released there are always one or two matches that you just know will be cake walks. When I saw that Juan Martin del Potro would face Dudi Sela in the first round I rolled my eyes. I mean Delpo is twice Sela's height at least so how could this not be a very quick match including a breadstick or two. Well Sela decided he wasn't going out like a bitch and fought Delpo with all the cunning and shot making in his body. Sure Delpo won in straight sets but he had to survive a first set tiebreak that went to 15-13. Delpo won the other two sets 4 and 4 but it was definitely not a boring match.

The match everyone wanted to see was the "grudge" match between Lleyton Hewitt and David Nalbandian. Since everyone wanted to see it of course the match was set for the last of the day on Rod Laver. I didn't get to see any of it. From what I hear it was a thrilling affair with Nalbandian pulling it out in five sets 3-6, 6-4, 3-6, 7-6(1), 9-7.

As I said before Nalbandian is fit for his body type.

End Note

The commentary was much, much better last night. If you don't like what you're hearing do as TennisAce suggested and Tweet your displeasure. It works.

Happy New Year

by Savannah

It's January 4, 2011. I hope everyone had a safe and happy New Year. Our favorite sport is back with a vengeance and there is a lot to talk about already.

I watched Dinara Safina in her no name kit play Yanina Wickmayer in Auckland last night my time. I'm sorry to report that Dinara couldn't find the court even with a map. Her level of play has dropped to the point you wonder where the woman is who played big babe tennis a mere couple of years ago. She showed zero confidence and was not very emotional, at least through the first set and a half. Admittedly I was doing other things so maybe she did throw a hissy fit and throw her racquet while I was away but the player I saw looked like a player just coming up from the junior ranks.

I'm not a tennis coach. I'm not a psychologist or psychiatrist. It's obvious to me that Dinara needs help and quickly. I know I dogged her as a slamless Number One and I feel I was justified in doing so. The year is young and there is still time for her to turn things around.

Meanwhile, in what I see as an attempt to take some pressure off her shoulders Caroline Wozniacki said at a presser in Hong Kong that winning a Slam is not a priority for her.

"I'm not very picky. If I win a Grand Slam in my career, I'll be happy. I don't set any deadlines," the 20-year-old told reporters in Hong Kong, where she is competing in an exhibition tournament.

"Of course I would like to win a Grand Slam title. Is it going to be this year? No one knows if it's going to happen. But definitely I'm going to try. I'm going to be fighting hard for it. We're going to have to see."
(...)
"I feel pressure is when you are put in a spot where you don't feel like you belong. I feel like I belong where I am (in the number one ranking). I've had a great year (in 2010)," she said.

I'm sure this is her public stance and that her team hopes it will make the press back off. Good luck with that Team Sunshine.
Wozniacki is going into Melbourne as the top seed. Serena Williams isn't playing. Venus Williams and Melbourne simply don't get along. I don't think the talk will die down at all. Instead it's going to increase as the year goes on. If I'm Wozniacki I'm on the look out for Kim Clijsters who needs a Slam win outside of New York.

I saw Jarmila Groth play last year and came away unimpressed. I must have seen her on a bad day because she's been making a bit of noise lately. I have to say that I'm surprised that she defeated Samantha Stosur who has been generating a lot of talk going into Melbourne. I'm hoping to catch a live stream to see Groth's next match. As for Stosur the weight of the Australian tennis establishment is on her shoulders and right now she doesn't seem to be handling the pressure well. Again, it's early and top players will be looking to just be hitting their stride for the start of the Australian Open. We'll see.

The women are not the only ones with issues. Fernando Verdasco lost in straight sets, one a bagel, in Brisbane yesterday. Verdasco usually plays well at the beginning of the year so I'm sure he's upset at the form he exhibited in his first match of the year.

Meanwhile in Chennai highly touted junior Yuki Bhambri is having problems transitioning to the senior tour. His loss to Alexandre Kudryavtsev of Russia today in Chennai is already being called the worst match of the young year. It's hard to accept people saying this when you haven't seen the match but his forays onto the Main Tour have not turned out well so far.
As for Australian junior Bernard Tomic it seems that he's becoming more known for his bullshit than his tennis. He was given a Wild Card into Brisbane and went down to Florian Mayer of Germany 2 and 2.

The transition from the junior to the senior ranks is always a rough passage but it seems that lately it's been harder than usual for both girls and boys. Are ego's being pumped up too high in the junior ranks and the youngsters become so hardened and set in their ways that they can't play the top players? Are we going to see what has happened to the NBA and to a lesser extent the NFL in tennis where the quality goes down because the younger players are unwilling or unable to adjust to the rigorous demands, mental and physical, of their chosen sport?
This is why it's so hard to hear someone like Sunshine make the statements she made in Hong Kong. Why shouldn't she say she wants to win a Slam if that is what she really wants to do? Is there something in her psyche that says she can only stay on top by playing every tournament on the calendar? Is the new generation trying to make the Slams irrelevant?

The WTA ranking system is complicit in downplaying Slam results. The reason the ATP gets less flak than the WTA is because it's ranking system doesn't do that. I'm sure the WTA feels that a change now would be admitting that the "haters" as they see it are right and that would only harm their brand. I think it's more harmful to their brand to have their Number One say it doesn't matter if she wins a Slam. Can you imagine a baseball team manager saying he doesn't want to win a World Series? An NFL coach saying the Super Bowl doesn't matter? Any football team on the planet saying the World Cup is just another tournament? I can't and tennis shouldn't accept it's top players saying it either. Tennis is fighting hard to be taken seriously. Women's tennis is fighting very hard to not be considered a sport for the unfit and mentally lazy. I don't expect a public tongue lashing but I hope Ms Allaster speaks with her player in private and tells her to get her shit together.

Idle Chit Chat

Wayne Odesnik is playing this week.
Stanislas Wawrinka, according to Swiss press reports, came home after Davis Cup, packed his bags, left his wife and daughter and changed coaches all to rededicate himself to playing the best tennis he can while he still can. Good luck with that Stan. We're all rooting for you.
Nishikori Kei of Japan has hired Brad Gilbert as his traveling coach.
TennisTV has shown all of the men's singles matches from Doha, Qatar so far this week. All that have been played on Center Court that is. This includes the match between Ivo Karlovic and Lukas Rosol. Thanks guys.

Doha 2010 - Day 2

by Savannah

Day 2 was a much better day tennis wise than Day 1 in Doha. With the temperature at 5p Doha time about 50 degrees Celsius/108 degrees Fahrenheit the day could've featured slow, sluggishly played break fests, something the WTA has become known for. Indeed the first match started out just like that.

Victoria Azarenka, seeded 8th, took the court to play Vera Zvonareva, the number two seed, to begin play. The first set saw break after break after break but also featured actual play. I mean tennis where strategy and skill was on display. It also featured the full WAG-ification of Bepa's coach, Sergey Demekhne. It was reported that during the post match presser photographers were taking tons of pictures of Sergey.

Ahem. Back to the match.

The first set was decided by a tiebreaker that Bepa won 7-6(4). The second set saw a mentally tired Victoria Azarenka trying to hold on but in the end not having enough left after winning Moscow last week. Vera won that set 6-4. Bepa is now the leader of the White Group with a match record of 2-0 and sets won at 4-0.

I don't think there was any doubt as to who would win the second match between Jelena Jankovic and Kim Clijsters. Clijsters hasn't played a match since the US Open and came into Doha the freshest of everyone there. Jelena, while she has cut back on her schedule, had played in Asia before coming to Doha.
Jelena couldn't play as poorly as she did on Day 1 and she didn't but she was never in the match. She tried to make a better showing but in the end she lost 6-2, 6-3. I think Lindsay Davenport, in her usual blase blase style said it best when discussing why Jelena's recent play. She said that in 2008 Jelena played almost constantly and that while she does work out and keep herself fit the body can only take so much and that she is paying the cost for her schedule two years ago. Yes she finished the year at #1 but has never been the same since. Clisters, also in the White Group, is up 1-0 in matches and 2 sets to none lost behind Bepa.

The third match featured WTA #1 Caroline Wozniacki playing Samantha Stosur.The tennis press was breathlessly reporting that if Bepa lost or Wozniacki won Caroline would secure the year end #1 ranking.

The Coronation was delayed by Stosur who did what I don't understand her peers don't do more often and force Wozniacki to play tennis. The end result was Sam winning in straight, routine fashion 6-4, 6-3. She is now 2-0 in terms of matches won and 4-0 in total sets won in the Maroon Group.

The Order of Play for tomorrow at 5p Doha time, 10a Eastern US time is as follows:

Thursday, October 28, 2010

Khalifa Tennis Complex (from 17.00hrs)

1. Samantha Stosur vs. Elena Dementieva

2. Caroline Wozniacki vs. Francesca Schiavone

3. Kim Clijsters vs. Victoria Azarenka

End Note: I'm going to be out all morning tomorrow so I won't post a Day 3 review. I should pick things up again on Friday.

Doha 2010 - Day 1

by Savannah

Billie Jean King on the state of her baby the WTA,.

Billie Jean King, who co-founded the Women's Tennis Association and remains among the sport's more forceful advocates, concedes that women's tennis "is not in a great place right now." But King argues that the sport always goes in cycles; this particular down cycle, she said, is due more to freak injuries and bad luck. She also suspects it's exaggerated by media, whom she believes delight in pointing out injury or frailty (real or perceived) among female athletes.

"I just want everybody to be healthy at the same time because we really have depth if we can get them all playing," King said. "We've had a very bad year. But it's not going to be like that forever."

SOURCE

Doha - A Dismal Start

Jelena Jankovic did not have a great second half of the year. Still most people, well me, expected her to suck it up and bring her "A" game to Doha. The opening match between JJ and Vera Zvonareva should have been competitive. Instead JJ dropped the first set 6-3 and disappeared for the second set losing it 6-0. She is still saying she is ill.

For some reason I didn't expect much from the Caroline Wozniacki/Elena Dementieva match and I got even less. The final score was 6-1, 6-1 Wozniacki and it wasn't even that close. Elena is obviously injured but she did play the entire match.

There was one match worthy of the name and that was not between two new school WTA'ers. Francesca Schiavone and Samantha Stosur, neither of whom have official WTA sanctioned nick names both came to play.

I'm sure Franny will be talking to herself after blowing a 4-0 second set lead and losing the set and the match 6-4.

The win has to be a confidence booster for Stosur who tightened up her game winning six games in a row.

There is a lot of speculation that both Elena Dementieva and Jelena Jankovic will withdraw from the tournament. Li Na and Shahar Peer are the alternates. It was announced today that Li is a confirmed player in Bali, an event she said she didn't want to play. We should know more tomorrow.

Wednesday Order of Play - Doha

Khalifa Tennis Complex (from 17.00hrs - 10a Eastern US Time)

1. Vera Zvonareva vs. Victoria Azarenka

2. Kim Clijsters vs. Jelena Jankovic

3. Caroline Wozniacki vs. Samantha Stosur

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.

Patrick McEnroe Resigns Davis Cup - And Elena vs Samantha

By Savannah

This is the first thing I heard when I put on the television this morning.

PATRICK McENROE RESIGNS AS UNITED STATES DAVIS CUP CAPTAIN

Longest-Tenured Captain in U.S. Davis Cup History Will Lead

Country for the Last Time at World Group Play-off in Bogota, Sept. 17-19

WHITE PLAINS, N.Y., September 6, 2010 -- The USTA and Patrick McEnroe announced today that McEnroe will resign as U.S. Davis Cup captain immediately following the Davis Cup by BNP Paribas World Group Play-off against Colombia in Bogota, September 17-19. Now in his 10th year as captain, McEnroe is the longest-tenured captain in U.S. Davis Cup history. He led the U.S. to its record 32nd Davis Cup title in 2007, its first title since 1995 -- ending the longest drought in U.S. Davis Cup history. He has compiled a 16-9 record thus far; his 16 victories are second all-time in U.S. Davis Cup history behind Tom Gorman’s 18 wins.

“It is with a heavy heart that I am resigning as Davis Cup captain, but it is a decision I felt was best for the team and myself right now,” McEnroe said. “Davis Cup is a significant time commitment and this decision will allow me to focus more energy on my family and to the USTA Player Development program”

“Patrick is the one the finest and most decorated captains in U.S. Davis Cup history,“ said Lucy S. Garvin, Chairman of the Board and President, USTA. “He leaves an indelible mark on the Davis Cup, and has always handled his captaincy with class and distinction. Patrick is and will remain a tremendous asset to U.S. tennis as he continues to lead our player development efforts.”

The U.S. will face Colombia in the World Group Play-off next week. It is the first time since 2005, and just the fifth time since the World Group was instituted in 1981, that the U.S. has had to compete in the play-off round. The U.S. is 3-1 in World Group Play-offs, having defeated Belgium on red clay in its last appearance in the World Group Play-off.

“Patrick changed the culture of Davis Cup in the United States, creating a true team environment and a sense of camaraderie that the U.S. has never before seen,” said Jim Curley, Chief Professional Tournaments Officer, USTA. “He has been a champion of the competition in every sense of the word, and elevated the stature of the event in this country.”

The World Group Play-off against Belgium in 2005 was the first of 10 consecutive U.S. Davis Cup ties that featured the lineup of Andy Roddick, James Blake and the doubles team of Bob and Mike Bryan, shattering the previous U.S. record for most consecutive ties with the same lineup. The previous record was three consecutive ties by eight different combinations.

According to the report on CBS Jim Courier is very interested in the job. No one can deny that Patrick made the US Davis Cup team into a force to be reckoned with. If it is Courier he's got big shoes to fill.

The Ladies Put On A Show

Elena Dementieva had four match points yet she failed to convert them. Samantha Stosur had one and she converted it. That is the short version of what was the best women's match of the US Open so far.

If you like full court tennis, great shot making and strategy this match had it all. Surprisingly it was Stosur who kept her nerves in check at the end - she'd gone on walkabout earlier in the match - and Dementieva who fell apart. The match was settled by a tiebreaker, something that those watching really wanted to be played since both women fought so hard.

Since all the action started after midnight the fans in the nosebleed section could come down and sit courtside and I have to say it made a difference that real fans were there to cheer the combatants on. It was a well deserved win by Stosur who will face Kim Clijsters next.

Paris In The Spring - RG Days 12, 13

by Savannah

I didn't get to post yesterday because my daughter graduated from college. After the ceremony we went to one of the better NYC steak houses. Needless to say I'm very proud of her.

Women's Semi Finals

If anyone thought that Francesca Schiavone had any inkling Elena Dementieva was going to retire after the first set they had to think again when the camera zoomed in on her. Her jaw literally dropped. Elena said that she had a calf tear that made it painful to walk. I noticed that after the end of the tiebreak she stumbled and that she burst into tears before walking over to Franny to congratulate her.

In my opinion Franny is going into the final having bested her semifinal opponent in a tie break. She intends to do all she can to win. Good for her.

Talk is still swirling around Samantha Stosur's game and how it's an ATP style of play. All I know is that she blew past Justine Henin, Serena Williams and Jelena Jankovic. Of her last three opponents only Serena did not say her style of play is masculine. It's true that her tennis is not the boring hit hard and harder style so many women employ these days. Is there anyone on the WTA tour who uses a kick serve?

Darren Cahill, the least fanboyish of the ESPN/NBC announcers has also compared her style of play to the ATP. He comment about how she hits the ball said that the way she hits the ball - that instead of hitting over the backhand, she prefers to run around the backhand to hit the inside out forehand "just like a man" is said to have been greeted with dead silence by his compatriots.

To be honest I don't know what the announcers, and players, are implying. Are they making allusions to her sexuality? Are they saying she's juiced? I don't know. I do know that people who live in glass houses shouldn't throw stones.

At any rate one of these two women will be the French Open Champion for 2010, something no one would've predicted.

Men's Semi Finals

You can say what you want about John McEnroe but he can call a tennis match when the mood strikes him. As soon as he said it looked as if Tomas Berdych's legs were gone I knew the match was over.

As for the second match Jurgen Melzer realized he wasn't playing Novak Djokovic midway through the second set. He did make the third set competitive but he still ended up the runner-up.

The men's final will be played on Sunday.

In Other News...

Stefan Koubek, saying he was tired of being insulted by fellow Austrian Daniel Kollerer literally took matters into his own hands during the Austrian equivalent of WTT. I can only speculate that Kollerer didn't respond because he wanted Koubek to be thrown out. Some say there is a history of bad blood between the two men. I don't know about that. I do know that Koubek was disqualified, and that the fans booed Kollerer and cheered Koubek.

Paris In The Spring - RG Day 11

by Savannah

Sometimes it hurts to be right. I said that neither Venus Williams or Serena Williams would make the singles final at Roland Garros. Serena came out wired and as a result played tentative tennis. When their backs are to the wall they revert to being the hard court players they are. Despite the sun the court was not in hard court mode today and while Samantha Stosur won because she played the clay better at least Serena won a set.

With Serena's exit there are no more American's in either singles draw.

Order of Play Day 12 - Ladies Semi Finals

Francesca Schiavone (ITA)[17] v. Elena Dementieva (RUS)[5]
Samantha Stosur (AUS)[7] v. Jelena Jankovic (SRB)[4]

A first time Slam winner will be crowned on Saturday.

Meanwhile in the ATP...

Twenty nine year old Jurgen Melzer fought his way into his first Grand Slam semi final defeating Novak Djokovic in a thrilling fifth set that saw a missed line call, a play on a shot that seemed to be going out, and other thrilling aspects of clay court play. In the final analysis neither the blown call or the questionable play had any effect on the match. On the way to his win Melzer blew a gimme match point that could have derailed his victory. Instead he sucked it in and won.

The men's semifinals will feature Rafael Nadal vs Jurgen Melzer and Robin Soderling vs Tomas Berdych.

Miscellany
ESPN showed live tennis today. Mark your calendars. They also made the right call in reairing the Serena Williams vs Samantha Stosur match which was first up on Chatrier this morning.
They also aired the end of the Federer/Soderling match. For the third time. That I don't get.

Paris In the Spring - RG Day 10

By Savannah

Man you go out for a couple of hours and come back to find much weeping and gnashing of teeth. I'm assuming Patrick McEnroe has been checked in for observation. They're replaying the match on ESPN - a first? - so it's on my television. It's hard to root for someone when truth be told neither player is one you would choose to watch.

Robin Soderling will face Tomas Berdych in one semi final.

In what could be considered a mild upset based on both players past history Francesca Schiavone defeated Caroline Wozniacki in straight sets. For once Franny didn't collapse mentally and Caroline's "I'll just keep the ball in play until you get frustrated" style of play didn't work. I don't think anyone thought Franny would be in the semi finals. She'll meet Elena Dementieva who defeated her injured country woman Nadia Petrova overcoming a horrible first set.

In Other News...

No tennishead can forget the reaction when Martina Hingis, after losing to Amelie Mauresmo in the Australian Open a few years back compared playing her to playing a man. There were many reasons not to care for Ms Hingis but this added many fans to the list of haters.

That said I wonder why this comment by Justine Henin didn't get a lot of play?

Q. Can you say a few words about Samantha Stosur, your next opponent? Have you played her?
JUSTINE HENIN: Yes, I played her once. That was a few weeks back in the final in Stuttgart. She has made huge progress in singles, because she used to play the doubles.
But now she's a top player in the singles. She has beautiful qualities on clay because she plays kind of a man's tennis. I mean, she has very heavy balls. She is a very powerful girl. She has a beautiful forehand and a very good backhand, as well.
It was difficult in Stuttgart. I know it's going to be difficult tomorrow. Anyway, from the round of 16 things get tougher, so I expect a good fight.

Maybe because she "clarified" what she meant? Kinda?

There is a reason lots of fans dislike listening to the ESPN commentators. Federer's opponent is up 2-0 in the second set on the replay I'm watching. I just had to listen to Brad Gilbert go on about how the Monogram is so perfect his socks aren't covered in red clay. That's analysis Brad? Really? It got worse. They were yammering on and on about the player they've deified while Robin Soderling went up 2-0 on the FedGod and held to go up 3-0. If I didn't know how this ends I would've turned it off already.