The Chill of Samantha Crawford and Woz in Beast Mode - WTA 2016

by Savannah


Getty Images

One of the most anticipated matches by tennis cogniscenti was the one between Belinda Bencic and Samantha Crawford. Non tennis nerds are forgiven for asking "who?" when it comes to both players. Bencic is an up and coming Swiss player and Crawford is a little known player out of Georgia. Each woman has taken a different road to the semi limelight of up and coming WTA players but Bencic, because of her association with Martina Hingis, is probably the better known player in tennis circles.

Coming into her match vs Crawford Bencic dismantled Sara Errani 6-1, 6-2 causing Errani to decry the late withdrawal of an unnamed player saying that said player ruined the draw. Maybe she was thinking that if the unnamed player had withdrawn earlier she would've moved from the ninth seed to the eighth and avoided Ms Bencic. But that did not happen and we ended up with Bencic vs Crawford.

Crawford, like Chung Hyeon, is one of those players you hear whispers about. Nothing distinct coming into this match but whispers all the same. It was a match many wanted to see. Sadly unless you were in Brisbane there was no way to see the match since it took place on a non televised court with not even a chance of a stream popping up somewhere it's not supposed to. So fans scoreboard watched and hung out on Twitter and when the dust settled Samantha Crawford had defeated Belinda Bencic 7-5, 7-5.

Needless to say at this point the whispers got very loud. Crawford was set to play fan favorite Andrea Petkovic next and many thought surely that would be the end of her run. As the saying goes "not hardly". This match was televised and I'm sure I was among the many who, watching Crawford play for the first time, were slackjawed watching in disbelief as Samantha dismantled Petkovic 6-3, 6-0. Petkovic had no idea what had just hit her and almost in spite of itself the United States has a potential star on it's hands.

Samantha is a big woman, 6'2", and has trained with Michael Joyce, ex coach of Maria Sharapova, whose name is already being linked by some to Crawford but make no mistake Ms Crawford's game is nothing like Sharapova's. First of all she can move well. Her forehands leave vapor trails. There are reports that her volleying is above average. She is facing another test tonight vs a resurgent Victoria Azarenka who starts the year fitter than I've seen her in a very long time.

Win or lose tonight this young woman is going to be hyped by the USTA. Let's hope she has people around her to protect her from the wiles of the USTA and let her continue her development. She's got a Wild Card into the Main Draw of the Australian Open. All eyes will be on her.

The other story of 2016 is Caroline Wozniacki. We're used to her by now, brick wall, counter puncher, father who goes for the histrionics during his courtside coaching sessions so who is this woman, wearing last years kit, who showed up in Auckland? I have never, ever, seen the Wozniacki who wiped the floor with Christina McHale 6-0, 6-2 and followed up with a beat down of Alexandra Dulgheru 6-1, 6-0. This Caroline was aggressive, in your face, hitting winners, you name it. Her father Victor Krason stayed in the stands while his daughter swaggered around the court. Absolutely amazing play from a player we all thought we knew. She'll be playing Sloane Stephens next. Sloane is being coached by Kamau Murray of Chicago now. I was going to say at the moment but I'm trying to be nice so early in the year.

This and That

The other stuff going on with the WTA is worthy of a right eyebrow quirk.

Let's start with all the withdrawals. Serena Williams and Maria Sharapova head the list. I wasn't surprised about Serena. The most recent pictures I'd seen of her she was wearing flats to formal events, something she last did when she had surgery on her foot. She played a bit at Hopman Cup before officially withdrawing and allowing Victoria Duval to get some much needed match play after her illness.

Sharapova? A forearm injury was cited as her reason for withdrawing. Like I said it's too early in the year to be mean so I'll accept her surprise withdrawal at face value.

There was Petra Kvitova citing gastric issues in Shenzen. Garbiñe Muguruza's foot was giving her problems.

Remember when they went in on Caroline Wozniacki for saying that the WTA made it's athlete's play hurt? Apparently there's not going to be any more of that in WTAland.

Speaking of Muguruza she went way off the reservation with her widely reported comments to the Spanish journal El Pais . In a wide ranging interview she said that all of the WTA players hate each other and that ayone who says anything different is lying. Her defenders are saying it was a joke citing the article as proof because after she said that she reportedly giggled. Others are saying she is very sarcastic in both Spanish and English and that her words shouldn't be taken at face value. The only Spanish I know is not repeatable in proper company so I linked to the article above. The Google translation is horrible as you would expect but the controversial part is translated as follows:

The players are very difficult to make friends, we are very competitive and we are all the time on tour. And it is very difficult to make friends among other players because the next day we will compete. The boys is different, but the girls ... we all hate. Literal. And those who say otherwise are lying, "emphasizes having a good laugh. "Although we also look at things very women. We go over and suddenly think, 'I have the best nail ". Laughs again. "You can not avoid. It is incredibly different than with the boys. " Can it be macho? "I've often thought, because I see guys who are friends with each other. When we go to those events, a little commitment, before the tournament, the truth is I miss someone with whom to gossip: 'My God !, how would this dress? ".

New girl trying to fit in or haterade? We don't know enough about her to decide.

Finally there was the kerfluffle betwen Jelena Ostapenko and Naomi Broady in Auckland. Ostapenko, frustrated because Broady wasn't rolling over and playing dead for her threw her racquet. It hit a ball kid. Under the rules that means automatic disqualification. Except in this case where the chair did absolutely nothing. Broady protested but seeing she was getting nowhere resumed playing and beat Ostapenko.

Remember when you were a kid and your Mom told you that in a dispute they always see the person who reacts not the one who started it? That's exactly what happened here. On their way to "shake hands" at the net Ostapenko lit into Broady who understandably went off. That is all everyone seems to be focused on. Is Broady a bit of a drama queen? Maybe. Is Ostapenko a menace to society? Judging by all of the support that flowed Broady's way I'm thinking Ostapenko is one of those insufferable brats who thinks that the tennis world should be bowing to her invincibility. My question is why is no one going after the chair for not doing his job? I'm betting he's part of the in crowd in Australia and they're perfectly happy to let Broady and Ostapenko be tarred and feathered by tennis fans instead of their boy.

So what, you may ask is going on with the ATP? Last I checked for the most part they seem to be going about their business and playing tennis.

Roland Garros 2014 Women's Final: Maria Sharapova vs Simona Halep

by Savannah

The Great Blonde Face-Off has come and gone. Eugenie Bouchard vs Maria Sharapova turned out to be a great woulda coulda shoulda. The WTA establishment wants fans to accept Eugenie as the new blonde super star, something that must gall Maria Sharapova. Even I kind of went for the okey-doke and thought there would be a battle for the ages. Instead we got another chapter in the myth that has been created around Maria Sharapova.


Getty Images

There is no need to go into detail. I'm sure most of the people who read this blog saw the match and know that Bouchard showed that she is not quite ready for prime time. She went away when she needed to step up. When she needed to impose herself she got frustrated and began to try too hard. Will she be able to seize the crown soon? Short answer is no. The one who is ready is named Simona Halep. She's the one who will be on the other side of the net tomorrow morning US time. Not Sloane Stephens. Not Eugenie Bouchard. Not Sara Errani (thank the gods). Sloane is not going to be anything more than a footnote in tennis history if she continues on the path she's on. But she gets more hype than Simona Halep. Why? Is it because she's not a bottle blonde? Is it because she's not tall? Is it because she's never trained in the United States? Is it because she speaks English with an accent? She's totally understandable but I don't think that's enough for the WTA who prefers it's stars tall and blonde.


AP/Darko Voijinovic

I have no idea who will win. I do know that Halep is not going to be intimidated. Pova's record against her is 3-0. But I think all bets are off tomorrow. I think we may see the match we thought we were going to get when Pova played Bouchard.

By this time tomorrow we'll know.

WTA YEC Round Robin Groups

by Savannah

Red Group

Serena Williams

Agnieszka Radwanska

Petra Kvitova

Angelique Kerber

White Group

Victoria Azarenka

Na Li

Sara Errani

Jelena Jankovic

There it is. The Red Group is the stronger of the two in my opinion. The weakest link in that group is Angelique Kerber, who has the worst head to head of almost everyone in the tournament except for Sara Errani. Think I'm wrong? A fan was good enough to put together a chart or two comparing stats. The first chart compares all time H2H's.




Still not convinced? Lets look at the 2013 H2H between the same players.



Thanks go to the fan on Tennis Forum who put these together. I'm not this good with computers.

Looking at these charts I have to wonder what the rush was to get Kerber in.

Still a tournament like this exists in its own reality. Anyone could get hot. Someone can falter. Should they just play the final now? Some think so but as the saying goes one never knows do one?

There Should Be Questions Asked

by Savannah

Nick Bollettieri ‏@NickBollettieri
@MariaSharapova only knows one way to play- hit the ball as hard as you can.

Maria Sharapova defeated Victoria Azarenka in three sets. Along the way she committed about twelve double faults and went through a period of not being able to find the court. But in the end she defeated Azarenka who looked painfully out of place on the terre battue.

As I mentioned before Sharapova went to Spain and worked on her clay movement. That was the difference between her and Azarenka today. How long will it be before Victoria Azarenka takes some time to go to Spain and work on her movement? And how long will players trained in the United States have to go elsewhere to learn how to play on the dirt? Sloane Stephens has already done it. The USTA Player Development people can try and make the coaches at its facilities see the light but unless things have changed radically that continues to be an uphill battle. Any second now a Time Lord will take tennis back to the glory days of wooden racquets and the domination of the Tennis Axis countries. Or will it be the Wayback machine that will do the trick?



As for the other finalist Serena Williams came as close as humanly possible to playing a perfect match. She wasn't playing a Qualifier or someone granted a Wild Card into the main draw. She was playing the WTA #5, Sara Errani. Every player has a bad day but Errani played like someone who had just wandered in off the street and was handed a racquet and told to play the top woman in the world.

There was a lot of talk about what it meant for Errani, who has never won a major, and until this week had never defeated anyone in the top five, to now be a member of the top five. There will be more discussion after today's match. When a top five player tosses in a serve of 49mph everyone is entitled to ask what the hell is going on in the WTA. I mean I could probably throw in a 49mph serve.

Don't get me wrong Errani has worked hard and made the best of what she has. No one expects her to be a flame thrower especially since she is diminutive but come on. Some are trying to say she's the David Ferrer of women's tennis. I don't agree with that at all. When pundits and people who are paid to have opinions start making that kind of reach you know shit is raggedy.

At any rate the Number One seed will play the Number Two seed Saturday. It should be an interesting match.

There Can Only Be Two...

by Savannah

We're down to the Final Four - the four women who will compete to make the Roland Garros Women's Final.


All eyes will be on defending women's champion Maria Sharapova. I don't think she had the most difficult draw on her way to the semi finals but Jelena Jankovic took the first set 6-0, a score that had to shock Sharapova and her fans. One commentator said he couldn't remember the last time Sharapova had been bageled. That's funny I can and I don't get paid to know things like that.
I'm sure she's going to come out swinging and screaming. It's funny how sometimes you can barely hear her and at other times it's like the hounds of hell are on her tail.



Sharapova will play Victoria Azarenka, a woman who's blood curdling war cry bothers me more that Sharapova's. Azarenka played Maria Kirilenko to make the semi finals. Kirilenko had a nice run in Paris but at this stage in a tournament the cream is rising to the top and while Kirilenko will step into the top ten she's not at the top, in the top four or five however you want to look at the top women players. Who will win? Don't ask me. I'm always wrong about things like that.



What can you say about Serena Williams that hasn't already been said? Sure we could remind that guy in Germany that she was the last one to serve a bagel to Sharapova but I'm sure someone has already told him that. Serena caught a lot of grief for saying the only person who can beat her is herself but more and more comms from varying nations are echoing those words.

That she is vulnerable was proven by her match against a resurgent Svetlana Kuznetsova who seemed to go back to the future and play the kind of tennis that led to her winning two Grand Slams. Serena literally stopped moving her feet, hell stopped moving period, and lost the second set in spectacular style. It looked as if Sveta was going to take her out but Serena, as only she can, twisted up her hair and got to work winning the third set and the match going away.



Serena will not be able to have such a lapse against Sara Errani. I watched Sara beat Aga Radwanska at her own game with a tenacity and focus worthy of her top five ranking. Most people think this match is a gimme. I won't go that far. Serena will have to win it.

Roland Garros Miscellany

There have been two huge complaints about this years Roland Garros, neither of which fans can affect.

One was the broadcast schedule. I'm in the United States and coverage was spread between Tennis Channel, ESPN2/ESPN3 and NBC. If you live in the States and were happy with the coverage I'd have my medication levels rebalanced. To say it has been horrid is putting it mildly.

I don't have Tennis Channel but I did download the APP and attempt to watch the streaming it provided on its website. For some reason Tennis Channel online or mobile and I don't get along. The service worked well for many people BUT when it was time to go it was time to go.

The same with ESPN's coverage. They have their format and they stick to it but I have to say I heard much more analysis this year. I think that comes from hashtags that expressed frustration about the gossipy chit chat that used to pass for analysis. I didn't see any of those hashtags on Twitter this go around. Good work guys.

Unfortunately NBC's coverage doesn't seem to be aware it's analysts have a problem. It's painfully obvious that John McEnroe watches very little tennis and has no use for the modern game. He, along with Mats Wilander, want to go back to their halcyon days and pretend the bigger more physically fit players haven't changed the game permanently. Mary Carillo is a parody of herself. And yet NBC is the network that will carry the Finals. I plan to do what I've been doing for the last week and a half. And that is watch live streams from British Eurosport. I can avoid Wilander easily. And NBC can't stop them from providing their coverage to whoever can get access to it.

The other issue was the court assignments. During the rainy first week it seemed that WTA matches, always scheduled to occur fourth/last, were the ones being cancelled and rescheduled. Television courts? They were the provenance of the ATP unless your name was Williams, Sharapova or Azarenka. Oh yeah, and that other top player Ana Ivanovic. Or you were French. While fan pressure seems to have set EXPN2 on a better course when it comes to commentary the FFT has signed a long term contract with NBC which means we'll be subjected to the inanity and outright stupidity of NBC commentators no matter how we fans feel.

I should mention in passing the the Roland Garros APP for non French fans was awful. It seems that if you were in France you got a better product.

What If They Held a Tournament and No One Cared

by Savannah

Poland has one of the top female tennis players in the world in Agniezska Radwanska. I'm sure that the organizers of the brand new tournament in Katowice thought their event would be a big draw. Someone forget to tell them about WTA rules regarding top ten players and International level events though and Aga was not eligible to play. Just an aside but I wish the WTA would go back to rating their tournaments as Tier I, Tier II, etc.

Back on topic. Still the field was pretty good with WTA #8 Petra Kvitova as the top seed. Looking at the players entered I think most people thought this tournament would be a walk in the park for Kvitova, a good tune up for her going into Fed Cup and then into the clay court season. On her way to the final Kvitova fed a bagel to the #117 ranked Romanian Alexandra Cadantu in the semi final. She would face Roberta Vinci in the Final. Vinci is better known for her doubles play with countrywoman Sara Errani at the moment but she earned her way to the Final defeating nineteen year old Annika Beck, who is ranked #74 one and love.

Vinci, at 5'4", was facing a much taller Kvitova who stands 6' tall and at 23 is 7 years younger.



So why is Roberta Vinci holding the winners trophy?



Partly because Kvitova showed up in the shape you see in the picture.

I didn't see the first set which was decided in a tiebreak and won by Vinci 7-6(2). I did see the entire second set though and what I saw was Vinci standing aside and letting a slow and out of shape Kvitova defeat herself.

Fans of Venus Williams are familiar with her second set walkabouts where she seems to have been distracted by who knows what but who somehow always manages to win in three sets. It seems Petra Kvitova has the same bad habit but unlike Venus today she didn't have a cushion and unable to hit a return inside the lines gave Vinci the match.



Not that Roberta Vinci was the image of fitness herself kiddies. She just played a better clay court game and gave her Fed Cup team a shot of confidence for next weeks battle against the Czech Republic, a team that features Kvitova as it's star.

If Petra doesn't improve her conditioning it's highly unlikely that she'll fulfill the potential many saw in her after her Wimbledon win and that is a shame for the women's tour.



The doubles crown was won by Lara Arruabarrena-Vecino and Lourdes Dominguez Lino.

There wasn't a lot of fan interest in this tournament that I could see. It wasn't that the WTA didn't try it's just that, well, no one seemed to care about the event. There's a lot of conversation about why Kvitova managed to lose an event where she was the class of the field, but that's it.

Maybe this tournament needs a different spot in the calendar?

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.

2012 US Open Women's Semifinals

by Savannah

The field is set.

Maria Sharapova will play Victoria Azarenka.
Serena Williams will play Sara Errani.

I don't think this is a gimme for Serena. In fact I think this could be a very difficult match for Serena if Errani decides she's got nothing to lose and goes for broke.

The two women have played three times and Serena has won them all, dropping only one set. But the matches took place in 2008 and 2009, before Errani reinvented herself. I wouldn't be surprised if the match goes three sets.

As for Sharapova vs Azarenka I'm thinking it's a toss up. Sharapova lucked out against a tiring Marion Bartoli who really needs to reevaluate all her jumping around. She's older now and all I see is her opponents keeping it close waiting for her to wilt in the third set. Azarenka isn't going to give Sharapova anything.

If Sharapova comes out tentative and spraying balls all over the place Azarenka is going to vamp on her like nobody's business. Azarenka has been playing like she's on a mission and she can see the finish line. This one could go three, but I wouldn't be surprised if it doesn't. I'm guessing Pova in three, Azarenka in two.



The following was reported as Roger Federer's reactions and comments on Rafael Nadal's Wimbledon loss.

Federer has an unusual hope for the future: that more lower-ranked players will challenge the elite the way Lukas Rosol did against Nadal at Wimbledon two months ago. “I do hope more guys ranked where Rosol is or even better ranked do believe more in beating the top guys on the big stage,” he said. “It was just refreshing to see that it was possible for a guy like Rosol to come through.”

Full article HERE

I wonder how refreshed he felt Wednesday night in the New York City borough of Queens?

Ladies Day June 9, 2012

by Savannah


No one in the American tennis media gave Sara Errani of Italy a chance. She stands a whisper above five feet tall so what chance did she have at this the most physical of all the Slams? Slim to none? Was she the player one American comm said she'd never heard of before? I'm not sure. And this column is not my review of the French Open. That will come a bit later next week.

If unlike the former American players who get paid beaucoup bucks to commentate matches and never seem to watch one between gigs you were watching tennis during the spring European clay court season you were very aware of Sara Errani. She played very very well and most European commentators stopped talking about her size and focused on her tennis. And she was playing tennis very well.

It wasn't a big surprise that she made it to the semi final match to me. Her enemy would be nerves. Instead it was Samantha Stosur who succumbed to nerves, the very Samantha Stosur whose name had already been penciled into one of the final slots by many American and Australian observers. When the final point was won it was Sara who was dropping her racquet to the ground and sobbing in joy along with her father. If some of the hired hands had bothered to pay attention earlier in the season they would've heard about the work Sara had been putting in, how she'd worked on her game and herself relentlessly so that she'd make a good showing on the terre battue of Paris. And make a good showing she did. She deserves to be in this final. And I know she will expect nothing but the best from herself.



It's a completely different scenario for Russian Maria Sharapova. The commentary I was subjected to sang her praises from day one, especially after the women who could've presented the biggest obstacle to her lost early. "Could anyone stop her relentless march to Goddess status" was the constant refrain. "She's no longer a cow on ice" they said over and over and over.

Don't get me wrong. Sharapova has worked her ass off for the last two years to get herself ready for the European clay court season. And her results have been stunning. No one who has watched Sharapova over the years can deny her strength of will and pursuit of the Maria Slam. She didn't throw tantrums after a loss. She was upset, mostly with herself, but kept her eyes on the prize.

Americans forget that Maria is a Russian national because she has had so much training here in the United States.
Her victories are claimed as theirs. So no one will be cheering harder for the tall Russian than the American tennis establishment even if her new found maturity on clay had almost nothing to do with them.

A Brief Commentary

Bizarre is not a word usually associated with a tennis match. Tough. Draining. Exciting. Challenging. All of these words can be used to describe a match. But the mens semi final between Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic can only be described as bizarre. I didn't understand what was going on while watching and now several hours later I still don't understand.

Thanks to the work of the ITWA Roland Garros opts not to publish print versions of all player interviews, something they were doing up until a couple of years ago. I've commented on this travesty of justice several times in the past and won't go into a lot of depth now. I will say that in this Internet age trying to restrict access to information only results in it popping up somewhere else. That's what happened with Roger Federer's post match interview. Thanks to the people at Freedom Tennis you can read Federer's interview not only in English but they've translated the French part of the interview as well. I'm posting it in it's entirety below. Thanks guys.

ROGER FEDERER June 08 2012

ROGER FEDERER



Q. What went wrong during the match?

ROGER FEDERER: I don’t know. I mean, I thought he played well, you know, under tough conditions. Yeah, and I wasn’t able to sustain maybe a solid enough game today, I guess.

That’s about it.


Q. Do you think maybe the weather conditions had anything to do with today’s game turning out the way it did?

ROGER FEDERER: Maybe a little bit now, you know, after the match is over. I mean, the match itself obviously try to use the conditions to your advantage.

But I was struggling, you know, to sort of keep the ball in play, you know, probably long enough, even though I wasn’t hitting the ball poorly. It’s been a tough week for me last couple. Maybe in these conditions today didn’t help me, help the cause, let’s put it that way.

I did have enough chances, so it’s no excuse there. I tried, and it just didn’t work out today.



Q. You had many chances in the second set, 3‑Love, 4‑2, 5‑4, and the crowd was with you, also. Do you think that if you had won that set it would have been a totally different match or not?

ROGER FEDERER: Yes, I think it would have been, but it’s not. (Smiling.)



Q. You talked about struggling to find your rhythm after a few matches this week. Did you feel any better today? Did you feel you were hitting the ball any better?

ROGER FEDERER: You know, maybe it was more straightforward because obviously Novak forces the issue as well, so there’s a bit more reacting going on than actually deciding where you want to hit the ball and how many different ‑‑ you know, with how many different possibilities can you hit it in a certain corner.

That was I think a bit of my issue. Earlier on in the week, obviously against top players it’s more straightforward, you know. You’re doing a bit more reacting, as well. That was the case out here today, as well.

I thought, you know, I was playing very aggressive early on, had the break, things were going well, but obviously it was always going to be hard to keep on serving well in the wind.

Obviously when Novak picks up some good returns, you know, my first serve obviously was going to be difficult.

I was actually feeling particularly well in the second set, so that one obviously hurts the most to lose, yeah. And the first set, too.

But in the third, I mean, I wasn’t able to put a good game together anymore. And the return in particular, obviously with a two sets to love lead against Novak it’s not the same match anymore. He goes are goes for broke and there is no more fear. That’s about it.



Q. What’s your balance about your level in this tournament? In which conditions you arrive to the Wimbledon and Olympic Games?

ROGER FEDERER: Well, I mean, Olympics are still two months away; Wimbledon is still, you know, two weeks away. So we have a lot of time.

But, again, I mean, semifinals is, at the end of the day, very good result for any tennis player. For me, too. I wish I could have done a bit better today, especially with the wasted opportunities.

But that’s how it goes sometimes. I’ve got to go, you know, change things around now for grass anyway. I’m looking forward to that. It’s been a difficult clay court season. I wasn’t in the best shape physically, to be quite honest.

Maybe I also that I did feel down the stretch a little bit. Overall I did feel my very best coming into the semis today. I was where I wanted to be, but ran into an opponent who was just better today.

Still, it gives me a little bit of a lift, you know, coming ‑‑ I guess coming into the grass court season now.



Q. Just your thoughts about Sunday’s duel of Titans, Nadal/Djokovic.

ROGER FEDERER: I’m sure it’s going to be a good match. I have no idea what the conditions are going to be, if it’s going to be rainy or slow or fast. I mean, it’s never going to be fast here because this year the balls are very slow.

Yeah, my pick is not a surprising one. I obviously pick Rafa. I think he’s the overwhelming favorite. We’ll see how it goes.

THE MODERATOR: French, please.



Q. You made it to the semis. That’s a good tournament for you. I felt that you were not really at ease. You were not physically present. Is that what you said?

ROGER FEDERER: I don’t know. I wondered about many things. You know, there comes a time when you have to stop asking yourself questions and play, which is what I tried to do.

What’s certain is that given the conditions, you know, I tried to be aggressive. It’s more complicated. Even more the case on clay. That’s about it.

I had opportunities; I missed them, even though I didn’t play badly on the break points. But then it’s on my serve. When I was serving, I didn’t manage ‑‑ not to play better. I can’t say this. But it was tough.

It was difficult to attack, and being defensive, or rather, you know, I could have waited a little. But if I were to do this, I was playing for him. I was not here to play a good match but to win the match, so I had to hit the balls. It was a bit disappointing today.



Q. Would you say you were irritated given the conditions since the beginning of the tournament? Today it was quite windy.

ROGER FEDERER: I usually like when it’s windy, but maybe it was not the right moment for me when there was wind, because I was looking for my pace and rhythm since the beginning of the tournament.

Then wind or no wind, I don’t know if I’d have won otherwise today. You know, I had to play a good match, and this was a match that was correct but not good enough to beat Novak.



Q. I have the impression when I’m listening to you that you have a little cold; is that true?

ROGER FEDERER: No, no. My throat was a little sore. My nose was running a little in the past days, but it didn’t really bother me today. No, not at all. Didn’t bother me at all.



Q. I’ll ask the question that was asked in English before: What about your position concerning Novak and Rafael Nadal on Sunday? What would you say about this? Would you say that Rafael is stronger?

ROGER FEDERER: I’d say that Novak is the favorite, I should say in French, when I said the contrary in English. No, no. I said that Rafa is my favorite to win this tournament here, but it’s going to be an interesting and pleasant final.

I don’t know anything about the conditions. I think this is what I said in English.



Q. You said that your season on clay had its ups and downs due to physical injuries. Would you say that this is what you paid here at Roland Garros, all these physical difficulties?

ROGER FEDERER: No, physically I feel good. What I said before is that today was my best day physically speaking if I look at the past months.

When I practiced the week after Madrid I was okay, then I hurt myself a little, and then for three or four weeks I knew I’d feel this physically. But then the pain vanished after Rome. I was happy on this side.

I played this side as well, so mentally afterwards you don’t want to hit too strongly. Who knows? You know, I tried to find other solutions in my game, but it was a good season on clay.

I would have liked to do better here at Roland Garros. I’m supported so much, and I won in 2009, also. So I wanted to reexperience this. Unfortunately, it was not possible at all during these two weeks.



Q. On Sunday who is going to have more pressure, Djokovic aiming for the Grand Slam or Rafael Nadal who wants to beat Borg’s record or will you say that both will be totally transformed?

ROGER FEDERER: They’re going to play well, I can tell you, pressure or no pressure. They’re used to it.

Novak has more pressure because he’s never won here, I think.

I was in the same situation twice, I think, for the Grand Slam, you know, the four in a row, four Grand Slam tournaments. I can’t really remember, anyway.

But Rafa has won six times here. Of course it would be great to win for a seventh time. But, you know, for Novak, he’s never won the tournament, so who knows?

Maybe luck will be on his side again. Well, Novak therefore will have more pressure, I think, which is quite normal, even though everybody thinks that Rafa is going to win.

I think Novak has more pressure on him, you know. To be in this situation you have to win three Grand Slams in a row again, which is more difficult.



Q. Have you lost a set after breaking three times? Has it happened to you already?

ROGER FEDERER: I hope so. I hope it’s not the first time. But I don’t know. I have played so many matches.

So Who Get's Tested The Most?

by Savannah

On Sunday @Tehaspe started posting ITF information about who was drug tested in and out of competition on Twitter. Out of competition means that they showed up at your abode at some ungodly hour and asked you to pee in a cup or whatever they ask you to do in this circumstance. The information is quite interesting.

For example in 2010 neither Caroline Wozniacki, Andy Roddick, Andy Murray or Li Na were tested out of competition. Interesting no? While both Venus Williams and Serena Williams were tested in competition in 2010 neither was tested out of competition.

Both Jo-Wilfried Tsonga and Gael Monfils were tested out of competition as was Richard Gasquet.

David Ferrer and Juan-Carlos Ferrero were tested more often out of competition than Fernando Verdasco. Rafael Nadal, Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic who were all tested at the same rate.

Victoria Azarenka, Maria Sharapova and Agnieszka Radwanska were also tested out of competition.

To see all of the PDF's please go HERE. I couldn't open the PDF's in Safari but I could in Firefox.

For those who have trouble loading the PDF @Tehaspe has uploaded the 2010 list here.

It's an interesting read.

Weekend Winners

Hsieh Su-Wei is the first Asian to win the title in Malaysia. I saw her play two or three years ago and thought she had a nice game that could take her places. Instead she's been on the Challenger circuit. Kuala Lumpur was plagued by rain and players ended up playing two matches on finals day.

Doubles winners in Kuala Lumpur were Chang Kai-Chen (R) and Chuang Chia-Jung (L) of Taiwan.


Sara Errani, one of the smallest WTA players, had a great time in Acapulco. She defeated countrywoman Flavia Pennetta who has won Acapulco before.

Errani, not satisfied with winning the singles crown turned around and with Roberta Vinci won the doubles title. Congratulations Sara!

Fernando Verdasco, who played the men's singles final joined with David Marrero to win the men's doubles in Acapulco.

David Ferrer won the men's singles title defeating Fernando Verdasco.

In Dubai Mahesh Bhupathi and Rohan Bopanna were the last team standing in the doubles competition.

Roger Federer defeated Andy Murray to take the singles title in Dubai.


Delray Beach saw South Africa's Kevin Anderson win it all. He defeated top seeded John Isner on his way to the championship.

Colin Fleming and Ross Hutchins won the doubles.

Simply the Best

by Savannah

Singles

Dmitry Tursunov 2009 Men's Champion Eastbourne

Caroline Wozniacki 2009 Women's Champion Eastbourne

Tamarine Tanasugarn 2009 Women's Champion Ordina Open

Benjamin Becker 2009 Men's Champion Ordina Open

Doubles

Mariusz Fyrstenberg and Marcin Matkowski Men's Doubles Champions Eastbourne

Sugiyama Ai and Akgul Amanmuradova 2009 Eastbourne Women's Doubles Champions

Sara Errani and Flavia Pennetta 2009 Women's Doubles Champions Ordina Open

Wesley Moodie and Dick Norman are the Men's Doubles Champions for the Ordina Open.