Ray Moore Steps Down

by Savannah

The BNPParibas Open (Indian Wells) released the following statement tonight:

MAR 21, 2016

"Earlier today I had the opportunity to speak with Raymond Moore," said BNP Paribas Open Owner, Larry Ellison. "Ray let me know that he has decided to step down from his roles as CEO and Tournament Director effective immediately. I fully understand his decision."

"Nearly half a century ago, Billie Jean King began her historic campaign for the equal treatment of women in tennis. What followed is an ongoing, multi-generational, progressive movement to treat women and men in sports equally. Thanks to the leadership of Billie Jean, Martina Navratilova, Venus Williams, Serena Williams and so many other great women athletes, an important measure of success has already been achieved. I'm proud to say that it is now a decade long tradition at our tournament at Indian Wells, and all the major tennis tournaments, to pay equal prize money to both the women and the men."

"I would like to personally thank all the great women athletes who fought so hard for so many years in the pursuit of equal prize money in professional tennis. And I'd like to congratulate them on their success. All of us here at the BNP Paribas Open promise to continue working with everyone to make tennis a better sport for everybody," concluded Ellison.

Larry Ellison had no choice but to accept Ray Moore's resignation. If this goes the way things usually go in tennis things will now calm down, tennis reporters will go back to their collective stupor, a new Tournament Director will be named, and life in the world of tennis, will go back to normal.

Let's be clear. Ray Moore, from South Africa, has done a lot of good. He fought apartheid, and stood on what for many was the right side of many causes. He rightly got in trouble for going beyond a statement of fact - the WTA as an organization is poorly run and that it's high level personnel do nothing to promote the game of women's tennis. If he had stopped there I don't think he would've had to step down today. The TD for Dubai is still in place and he said pretty much the same thing a few weeks ago.

What got him in trouble was being a 69 year old man who said things in a way that made him appear to imply WTA players should be performing a sex act on two top ATP players in gratitude for what those two men have done. He compounded his problems by talking about "lady players", an anachronistic and pejorative term for the women athletes who play professional tennis. He then went on to comment on the physical attractiveness of said athletes, something he would never say about the top ATP players when discussing them.

It shouldn't be a surprise to anyone who has been paying attention that misogyny runs deep in the top levels of tennis. All you have to do is listen to the male commentators when they're forced to work WTA matches. John McEnroe had no idea that Venus Williams, a fairly well known woman tennis player, had been diagnosed with Sjogren's Syndrome and that she'd been suffering from it's effects for over seven years. This was after it had been all over the web and in print media. His response when told about it and what it does was pretty much a shrug. When former male players are forced to work WTA matches they spend the entire time talking about men's tennis. This attitude extends to the cameramen who spend a lot of time giving us crotch shots or aiming their camera's down the front of a woman player's kit.

The WTA doesn't get off scot free either. The organization has aided and abetted this misogyny by promoting athletes who they feel men want to see. The criteria for being a WTA superstar is not what you do on court but how you look. Of European descent? Check. Tall? Check. Blonde? Check. It doesn't matter if you are flat as a board you will be presented as the sexiest woman on the planet and the way paved for you to make millions in endorsements. There are exceptions to this rule: Maria Kirilenko and Anna Chakvetadze comes to mind. So does Victoria Azarenka.

And, some will say, what about the hype around players like Sloane Stephens and Madison Keys? The desperation of the USTA shouldn't be confused with what passes for PR from the WTA. The situation with the WTA is different. It is supposed to promote women's tennis, not a particular player. This means making sure the world at large knows about it's players, is aware of their talent, and their athletic ability. It means making sure that your product is viewed by as many people as possible. Instead the WTA hired an outside firm to make deals with TennisTV, Eurosport and other major carriers of tennis content instead of controlling the marketing and image of women's tennis.

I've been writing about the failings of the WTA for years and I've sworn I'd stop writing about their nonsense several times but it seems I'm not able to do that. Every season there is some new incident that shows that the people running the WTA don't give a damn about women's tennis. And if they don't give a damn why should anyone else?

That is why the comments made by Novak Djokovic are right in line with the anti female attitude in tennis. Jo Wilfried Tsonga brought up women's hormones (menstrual cycles) as an issue affecting their play two or three years ago. Gilles Simon also spoke about women not deserving equal pay. They are only saying publicly what is said privately. If the WTA were a competent organization and didn't buy into the attitude by promoting "sexy" players the men couldn't be able to say what they do and get away with it.

Steve Tignor shared this anecdote from Billie Jean King's biography.

...Here’s what Billie Jean King wrote in her autobiography about her attempt to join forces with the men during their boycott of Wimbledon in 1973:

"At this time," she wrote, "I was leading the movement to create the Women’s Tennis Association just as Ashe and several other men had spearheaded the Association of Tennis Professionals the September before.

"Never mind that the so-called Association of Tennis Professionals would not admit female tennis professionals; I went to Arthur and the other leaders of the ATP, and I told them, ‘Look, we want to support you in this fight, so let’s work together and if you do boycott Wimbledon, we’re very likely to walk out with you.’

“Now get the picture: the men have a dispute, and we are offering, free and clear, no strings attached, to stick our necks out and support them ... So it was utterly in the men’s self-interest to accept our assistance. And did they? They wouldn’t even respond. I was never able so much as to get the ATP leaders to sit down and explore matters.”

Has anything changed? Will anything change with the resignation of Ray Moore? Sadly, the only thing I can say is no, nothing will change for the female tennis player until the WTA becomes what I think Ms King and the other founding members of the WTA wanted: an organization that works as hard as it's members do to show women's tennis as a viable, strong sport. Right now WTA members don't have that.

©Savannah's World 2016 All Rights Reserved

We'd Better Get Used To It

by Savannah


via TennisTV

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

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

Should We Forget February?

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

@ATPWorldTour title leaders born in 1990s:

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

None have won a Slam.

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

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

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

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

© Savannah's World All Rights Reserved

The Weight of Expectations: The Kids Part 2

by Savannah

"Who the hell is this CiCi Bellis?" I kept asking myself. Everywhere I looked I saw her name and age, 15, and the words prodigy and future star somewhere in the next sentence or two. So this morning I decided to look her up and see just what recommends her to tennis stardom in the near future.

The closest I found was this glowing article by someone named Ashlee Vance from August of last year for Bloomberg Business.

Silicon Valley is hardly wanting for prodigies, but until Tuesday it hadn’t produced one on the tennis court. Enter Catherine “CiCi” Bellis, who beat 12-seeded Dominika Cibulkova at the U.S. Open. The win was remarkable because Bellis is only 15 years old and was playing in her first Grand Slam match. The most recent 15-year-old to pull off such a feat was Anna Kournikova—back in 1996, three years before Bellis was born.

In some respects, Bellis’s success shouldn’t be all that surprising. Where the Williams sisters defied the odds by rising up from the mean streets of Compton, Calif., to become superstars, Bellis comes from a privileged background far more conducive to tennis development. She grew up in Atherton, Calif.— the elite among elite suburbs in Silicon Valley. Gordon Bellis, the youngster’s dad, made enough as an investment manager to supply his daughter with a backyard tennis court while wife Lori home-schooled CiCi.

Even by tennis’s hoity-toity standards, these were luxe surroundings. The only comparable situation would be the case of Ernests Gulbis, the mercurial Latvian player on the men’s tour and son of Ainārs Gulbis, a super-rich investment banker.

(...)

Given the track record of other out-of-nowhere Valley startups, it would be unwise to bet against her.

Notice the tennis names Mr Vance mentions. If those don't set off warning bells for Vance they do for hard core tennis fans. Neither Kournikova or Gulbis lived up to their potentials. But of course this girl - she is a girl - is going to be a success because SILICON VALLEY!!!

Yeah.


via USATIS

Well young Ms Bellis got her ass handed to her yesterday by the world #1 Serena Williams. Can I say that Serena let the girl win two games? The 6-1, 6-1 score is deceiving. It really wasn't that close.

I wonder though what sport other than tennis would allow a fifteen year old girl face the best player of this generation? In what sport would the hype machine try to spin it that the kid had a chance. I mean would it have been fair to let a college freshman go one on one with Michael Jordan back in the day? No you say? Then why build this girl up as the second coming because she beat Dominika Cibulkova and has had a decent ITF career so far. No offense meant to Dominika but Serena is several levels above Cibulkova and in my opinion it does more harm than good to expose someone this young to the juggernaut that is Serena Williams. As I said earlier this year exposing young players, male or female, to the rigors of the main tour before they're physically and mentally ready is not a good thing. It can lead to regression and self doubt. Tell me how many players have made the successful jump from the Juniors to the main tour? Look at the kid I'm following this year, Alexander Zverev. Poor guy is not doing well at all at the moment although he is playing Qualies something I think is a good thing.


via ITFtennis.com

Why isn't the hype machine talking about Chung Hyeon from South Korea? At 6' tall he doesn't have to worry about a height disadvantage. He's very mobile and very fast and can make shots from anywhere on the court. The hype machine may not be on his case but the tennis cognoscenti are. I mean when you hear the likes of Robbie Koenig and Jason Goodall falling over themselves to describe the potential of this young man you know that away from the ever vigilant (sarcasm alert) tennis "press" the people who matter are already paying attention to him. Oh but wait. He's from South Korea. His team is composed of Koreans. His English is very limited something we know drives the US tennis establishment up the wall. So he can't be publicized because he's too foreign. Better young Bellis who comes from a background the US tennis establishment understands and who can communicate with them without an interpreter.
I've been told by @Tonicate that the correct Romanization of the young Korean's name is "Jeong" but that the pronunciation sounds more like "Chung". Since he's using "Chung" I'll use it too. However it's spelled keep your eyes on him. I think he's going to be a good one.


via his Twitter profile

Borna Ćorić is another youngster with an outsize personality, a cockiness if you will, that Australian, British and US tennis people like. He's had to dial back his "best of his generation" quote and seems to be progressing, building a career. To my knowledge his English is limited too but with his buzz cut and personal charm I guess he's more approachable for the Westerners who have just stopped their pronouncements about Eastern Europeans dragging themselves out of their hovels to play tennis. Just stopped.

So Madison Keys. If you saw her complete breakdown towards the end of her match against Sloane Stephens you saw a player unable to handle the pressures she's under. After her run in Australia everyone was saying she was the next big thing, the American poised to succeed Serena, the one who should obliterate anyone across the net from her when she played. I think it was a mistake for her not to play anywhere until the IW/Miami swing. You have to learn to win and lose before you step on the big stages of tennis. Yes they said she was injured but did she play either of the warm up tournaments in Mexico at least? No.

This focus on the Slams and since we're talking WTA Premier Mandatory events is wrong and puts more pressure on young players no matter where they come from. You build a tennis career just like you construct a point. Everything can't be an "ace". You can't "servebot" your way through life and you can't do it with a tennis career. Make these young people play. Let them learn that taking the court, win or lose, is how you deal with life.

I have to mention that for many African American tennis fans Keys unfortunate comments about not identifying as African American have made her someone to root against. Keys is what 19? She's from a wealthy background and as many mixed race people do she's struggling with her identity. Should her parents have done more to tell how how the world sees her? It's easy for people hiding behind computers to say "yes they should have" but not being part of that family and it's dynamic the only thing outsiders can do is "don't judge". She may always struggle with her identity. We're all on this plane to learn so I say leave her alone about that for now. It was a mistake by her handlers to let that statement go in that interview but I'm betting they're unaware, and to be honest really don't care what people of color think or feel when they hear statements like that.

The way Keys was sobbing, bawling if you will, on the sidelines in the second set all of these issues are getting to her. I like the way Jonathan Leach handled the awkward situation. Men confronted with crying women usually lose it. He whispered directly into her ear so that the mic wouldn't pick up what he was saying. That was a good move on his part and Madison did settle down after that and win a couple of games to avoid being fed a bakery product. I still think she should play some International level events. Let her construct her career. With tennis careers extending into what used to be considered the golden years of tennis she's got enough time to get it together.

As for the woman who defeated Madison Keys, Sloane Stephens, I think she realizes that Nick Saviano is her last chance to be relevant in tennis. At least I hope she does. I think she's afraid of him, and that's a good thing for someone with her personality. She had more to prove versus Madison and she played like it. She's still playing. Unseeded. Let's see how she handles herself.

I haven't mentioned much about US young men. There's not much to say. Too short. Lousy games. Unable to think their way through a point let alone a match. Yes Donald Young is playing better tennis but he's hardly a newbie. Ryan Harrison is also trying now. No temper tantrums so far. But neither of them are new jacks. The true new jacks like Francis Tiafoe are doing the right thing and playing Challengers. Some folks out there get it.


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The Sloane Stephens Quandary

by Savannah


Photo via AFP

Nineteen year old Madison Keys of the United States won her maiden WTA title at the prestigious Wimbledon warm up tournament at Eastbourne. She won by playing tennis. That sounds silly but stop and think a minute. The women's game is marred by the idiotic adoption of on court coaching but in the final analysis a player has to know how to think while playing tennis. It's not enough to have wonderful shots or a monster serve. It's what you do in your return game. It's point construction. It's adapting to the tactics of the woman playing across the net from you. So much goes into winning a match let alone a tournament that those who end up hoisting a trophy have a confidence those who haven't don't.

There are those who will say that winning Eastbourne is small potatoes, that the big prize is played for at SW 19. Every tennis player, male or female, wants to win Wimbledon. But not everyone is willing to go through the pain, the social isolation needed to become a champion in an individual sport like tennis. On the men's side look at players like Joao Sousa of Portugal or Ernests Gulbis of Latvia. Both men, now in their late twenties, have woken up to the fact that they want to have something to show for playing tennis. They've gotten themselves in shape both mentally and physically and in Gulbis case have actually won a title or two (or six).

American tennis players are not what their predecessors were. But the modern game of tennis isn't what their predecessors played. The modern game requires peak physical condition. It requires knowledge of how to play on all the surfaces the sport is played on. It sounds simple but it requires you to be able to think. All the practice, all the conditioning is for nothing if you get on court and do nothing more than make pretty shots. It's a lesson the European players seem to have learned. American players, not so much.

If you haven't already read Christopher Clarey 's excellent article on American tennis I suggest you take a few minutes and do so, especially since play begins on Monday June 23 on the lawns of Wimbledon. Here's an excerpt:

(Jim)Courier and other coaches and former players see a lack of world-class work ethic and toughness in too many of the young Americans.

“There are plenty of talented players who are not getting the most out of their talent,” Courier said, declining to name them.

(...)

Jose Higueras, Courier’s former coach and the director of coaching at the United States Tennis Association, would not argue.

“We try to show them what it takes, but they are not really that interested, at least for now...

The other issue is the desperation of the US tennis establishment for a big star, someone to show those uppity foreigners what's what. They're not alone in that belief (the countries that form what I call the Tennis Axis all feel that the current state of affairs is not the best for tennis) but I'm focusing on the United States right now so I'll stick with them. I hate to always pick on Lauren Davis but to me she's the symbol of what's wrong with American tennis. She's listed at 5'2" (1.57m). She holds seven ITF titles and is currently ranked #58. Let's compare her to Dominika Cibulkova of Slovakia. She is said to be 5'3" (1.60m). Dominika has won four WTA titles and is ranked #10 in the world. How does a small in stature woman from Slovakia get to the top ten? Like her or not Justine Henin was also small in stature but made a name for herself in the upper echelons of women's tennis during the Big Babe era. I'm not going to get into how Henin did it. I'm talking about what a person who wants to be a champion does and how she carries herself.

We have to go back to Higueras comment that American players "are not really that interested" in what it takes to be at the top of the sport. The days are gone when you could show up on court with no muscle definition and nothing but your good looks and win. I was stunned to see the shape Sloane was in when she took the court this year. She was by no means fat but she was lugging a gut around that at least made me wonder where her head was. By comparison look at Madison Keys. She is beyond fit at the moment and it shows. Her movement has improved and she gets around the court very well for a tall woman. She's also worked hard on her game. All of her work resulted in her defeating a top ten player and winning her first title. I was surprised to find that Madison's coaches are from the USTA but that's not being fair to all USTA coaches. Madison listened where some of her peers haven't. Lauren Davis has a nice game. She makes nice shots. But she's not going to be the American version of Cibulkova unless she pushes herself the way Domi has.

I know I've taken the long way to get to the subject of this post, Sloane Stephens. I've said it before and I'll say it again and again. Her Australian Open win was a fluke. Serious fans know that it's only recently that either of the Williams sisters acknowledge when they're injured. Serena Williams has a sense of loyalty to women's tennis that has seen her play when maybe she shouldn't. A top player always has something wrong physically and as the saying goes if you take the court you're fit to play. When Sloane defeated her you would have thought the skies opened and angels descended to place a crown on Sloane's head and that the era of Serena Williams had come to an end. We all know that isn't what happened. Serena took that loss and decided that it wasn't going to happen again. Sloane took the win and decided she had made her bones and had nothing else to achieve. It appears as if there was no one in her camp to tell her that she hadn't done jack, that her game needs to improve, that she needs to study and train. I say appears because as is said "you can lead a horse to water but you can't make him drink". And to be honest I can't say all of the fault is with Sloane. She was given the full star treatment by the USTA and US media. Anyone's head would be turned. She's apparently still on a star trip though and doesn't seem to realize she's not all that, that she's just another underachieving American player who came on the scene with great fanfare and promptly settled into the middling ranks. Madison Keys, unheralded Madison Keys, if she continues her hard work and sacrifice, has the potential to be a real star on the women's tour. She's not getting the media hype Stephens got and that is a very good thing. Fans have begun to pay attention though and that is also a good thing.

Meanwhile Sloane remains the only woman in the top thirty who has not won a title. She's yet to even make a final. And what's amazing is that she doesn't seem to care. No matter the failings of the USTA in tennis the fault will always be that of the player. Organizations protect themselves. Individuals have a much harder time of it. She wants to be treated as a champion because of one match. Maybe she should sit down and look at what has happened to her since that match and what has happened to the career of the loser. Maybe then she would realize that one match does not a career make. The Williams sisters, both Venus Williams and Serena Williams, are legends. As of now Sloane is destined to be a footnote. She can turn it around but it's going to take more work than she seems to be willing to do at this time.

UPDATE

Maria Kirilenko defeated Sloane in straight sets 6-2, 7-6(6). Keep in mind Sloane's goal was to make the quarter finals. Not to make the Final or even the semi final. Just the quarters. It's time for her to take a step back and reevaluate her approach to tennis. Enter and win a few low level tournaments. Then worry about the big dances. You have to win to know what it takes to win. The US press carrying on about your streak of always making the second week of a Major isn't complementary. It's called desperation to try and bolster what is now your sagging career. There are lots of lower level events you can enter now. Do it.

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.

And So It Begins

by Savannah

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

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

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


Chris Hyde/Getty Images AsiaPac

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

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

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


via AP

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



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

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

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


REUTERS/Ahmed Jadallah

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


Bradley Kanaris/Getty Images AsiaPac

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

The month of living backwards has begun.

Four Of These Do Not Belong

by Savannah

Well maybe three.


Agniezska Radwanska has been here before. She was a finalist last year.


Marion Bartoli played a memorable Wimbledon final against Venus Williams a few years ago.

But neither woman was given much of a chance of making the final. There were other better known players who were seeded ahead of them and were favored to make the semifinals. They're gone. They were seeded however and therefore it was always possible they'd go deep into the tournament.


Sabine Lisick was also seeded so also had a chance to make it to week two and serve as warmups for the big girls. Her inconsistency was seen as proof she wasn't ready for prime time.


The only woman in the semifinals who wasn't seeded is Kirsten Flipkens. Injuries, including a scary bout of blood clots in both legs kept her off the tour most of her career and she was supposed to be back home in Belgium by now.

So why am I saying four of these women don't belong instead of just Flipkens? Did anyone really envision the Women's Semifinals without one or all of the Big Three? Is the tournament director sitting in a heap cradling a bottle of gin and mumbling incoherently? Probably. Is ESPN scrambling to find some way to build up Lisicki as the second coming to try and drum up interest in semifinals that feature not one American by birth or PR adoption, women who have been mostly ignored or made fun of by the US broadcast media? You bet they are.

In my opinion Kirsten Flipkens played the best match of the day. Who knew she owned the head to head between herself and Petra Kvitova? Who knew that after Kvitova, still overweight and obviously over heated in the closed stadium won the first set Flipkens would hold it together and calmly grind Kvitova into the grass?

I never thought that Sloane Stephens would beat Marion Bartoli. Aga vs Na was always dependent on which Li Na showed up to play. I thought that Lisicki might suffer from nerves after her big win but she's still obviously pumped and that confidence carried her through against Kaia Kanepi who really never had a chance.

So now it's time for the WTA to put its money where it's mouth is. The hype has been that the women's tour has depth and that what looks like weakness isn't that at all. Flipkens played great today but she's never played Bartoli who confounds with her play despite being out of shape for a female athlete.

Lisicki and Radwanska are even at one all in their head to head.

It's going to be an interesting day for women's tennis, one that will put it on display in a way I don't think it wanted to be, especially at this time.

Who will make the finals? I have no idea. I don't think anyone does.

What Will They Do About Tomic?

by Savannah



The man with the broken nose and neckbrace is Thomas Drouet. He has worked as a hitting partner for several ATP players, most recently Bernard Tomic, the troubled Australian player with tremendous talent and a history of erratic play. Tennis Australia has suspended him and he's had run ins with the law for joy riding, called "hooning" in Australia as I understand it.

Last evening French sources broke a story that should be upsetting to tennis fans, one that had John Tomic assaulting his son and head butting Drouet. Reports were that Drouet was left bleeding on the sidewalk as John Tomic walked away.

As everyone knows news travels fast in the Twitterverse and some were calling for the senior Tomic's banning from tennis before the full story was out.



Well now the story is out and to say it's troubling is an understatement.

The Australian Herald Sun posted the following account:

Speaking moments before Tomic Sr was to face a Madrid court last night, Drouet told the Herald Sun he had been treated like a "dog" and a "piece of s---" by Tomic Sr for months.

He said things came to a head after Tomic Sr demanded Drouet buy him a carton of milk as they were waiting to go to the airport.

He said he replied that he didn't have time.

Tensions were already high, he said. He said he saw Tomic Sr punch Bernard in the mouth during a practice session last Tuesday, leaving the player in tears.

He said that as they were about to board a flight, Tomic Sr again began abusing him, and then sacked him, saying he would not be paid; but Bernard insisted he take the flight with them.

Drouet said outside the Madrid hotel Tomic Sr asked him to walk with him.

"After 100m or something like this he was looking around and then he started again. I thought he was going to say sorry for the verbal abuse, but no.

"He spat in my face, then walked away, and said he wouldn't pay me any more.

"I said, 'OK, John, you are a real man. That's fine. Bernard will pay me'.

"And he headbutted me.

"Every day he treat me like a dog for six months, with disrespect and then this. But he need to be off the ATP (tour)."

This leaves nothing in doubt except what, if anything, Tennis Australia will do. In a way this is a decision Bernard Tomic and his family will have to make. When a parent is this abusive to his son, his meal ticket, I wonder if he's abusive to the rest of his family? If he is, and Bernard wants to get rid of him will his father turn on his mother or another family member? Is this threat the reason Bernard hasn't moved to sack him?

For assaulting Drouet TA can indeed ban John Tomic forever. Doing that would also provide Bernard with the cover he needs to hire another coach, and possibly get private help as a victim of abuse.

Let's wait and see what happens. The last thing Bernard needs is outsiders, fans, telling him what to do in this situation.

In Memoriam

Brad Drewett stepped down as CEO of the ATP after being diagnosed with what is commonly known as Lou Gehrig Disease or ALS. Despite that his death was not expected and hit the tennis community hard.

One thing I noticed searching tennis fan sites was that not many understood what his job entailed. That is a good thing. The man he replaced, Etienne de Villiers, had become a staple in the tennis press as he tried to force through measures that antagonized the Players Association and the top players of the sport. That Drewett did his job in the shadows is testimony to his effectiveness and hard work at forging cooperation between the players and the ATP.

I haven't seen much chatter about who will replace him. Should it be someone who can navigate the waters between the TD's and the players? Of course. Will it be an American? A Frenchman? A Brit? Time will tell.

End Note

Leave it to Maria Sharapova. When asked about the situation Sloane Stephens has created for herself she said the following as reported by @TennisNews TPN

Sharapova on Stephens' comments "I'm a pretty competitive girl. I say my hellos, but I'm not sending any players flowers as well."

She went on to mouth platitudes about how people perceive players. The day Sharapova sends anyone a bouquet you will know The Apocalypse is nigh. In fact the day Serena Williams sends anyone flowers you'll know it's upon us.

I'm amazed that people are trying to make this a problem caused by Serena. Haters gonna hate as the expression goes. Sloane started this mess with her "disrespectful" comment. If she suffers endorsement wise and p.r. wise that is on her, not Serena. Sloane should understand that the world of professional sports, as cut throat as it is, is not going to change because she's on the scene. You want respect you have to earn it. Talking shit about players who have won more tournaments than you've even sniffed at is not going to help you get it.

No Fairytales...

by Savannah


Stan Wawrinka won the Estoril Men's Trophy with a decisive defeat of Spain's David Ferrer.


Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova won the Women's Singles crown at the same event.


Tommy Haas overcame what had to be a case of nerves late in his match against fellow German Philipp Kohnschreiber at the ripe old age of 35.

But no one is talking about any of these wins and what it means for tennis that a woman who considers herself an athlete shows up on court looking as if she's on the see-food diet and a thirty five year old man wins on the most mentally and physically demanding surface of them all or that the seeding for the French Open is up in the air.



Instead everyone is talking about the couple pictured above. This was during happier times when love was new and there were pink unicorns and sunny skies. Or so we thought.

Jimmy Connors was never one of my faves. I used to watch tennis back when he was on top and knew he wasn't well liked by many of the commentators but I had no understanding of why this was. I know now that he was considered an outsider, not genteel enough for the country club set that set the standards for players back then.

Chris Evert had the image tennis wanted. Blonde, lady like, looking as if she barely broke a sweat defeating people like the overweight woman from then Czechoslovakia, Martina Navratilova.

Yet somehow they got together and became the ideal tennis couple. Chris at one point said that she lost a match because she saw Connors talking to another woman in the stands and couldn't concentrate.

But all the blue skies and lollypops are gone now. Connors, in what any woman would consider the ultimate betrayal revealed in his new memoir that Chrissie advised him over the phone that she was going to abort their child because her career meant more to her at the time. Evert, to her credit, has said via a press release that she will not comment.

Connors story is interesting enough on its own. He is still one of the only male players to have a female coach, his mother. Some of the teasers hint at dyslexia and a gambling addiction. He is from East St Louis and his early tennis was played in municipal playgrounds just like the Williams Sisters. He calls his wife the "love of his life" despite the fact that they split at least once that I know of. Why did he have to publish something that should only have been revealed by Ms Evert if she chose to? Editors always want something big. He could've, out of respect for the woman behind the image, said nothing.

For many this revelation has put Connors right back among the top douchebags of the sport. I can't argue against that. In making this revelation he destroyed not only an image but a trust. If his mother were alive I'm sure she would've told him to keep his mouth shut.



The other big news was made by Ms Sloane Stephens. No, she didn't win a title. In fact she lost to Daniela Hantuchova in the first round of the Madrid Tournament continuing the slide she's been in since the Australian Open.
In what has to be the worse interview ever given Stephens whines about Grand Slam champions Venus Williams and Serena Williams not being nice to her. This comes on the heels of another publicity driven campaign that tried to make it seem as if Serena was somehow mentoring Sloane. This fantasy didn't make it out of Melbourne to be frank but some wanted it to be perceived as a fact and it percolated along in the background.

I guess all that smoke that got blown up Sloane's rear end has really clouded her mind. Sports is a meritocracy. Champions respect each other but they may or may not be friends. People with very competitive natures are not warm and cuddly. They want to beat you, either on the court, in the pool, or on the chess or checkers board. They may love you as a relative but when it's time to play a game all bets are off. They want to win and will beat you into submission any way they can.

The amazing thing to me is that Sloane still thinks beating a severely injured Serena makes her one of the elite. I'm beginning to think this is her view of the world not one that's been imposed on her. In the interview it's reported that her mother kept trying to stop her from saying what she said but that she ignored her. That is troubling.

Richard Williams and Oracene Price bore the brunt of the attacks against their daughters. They chose not to comment on many of the outrageous things said about them.

Toni Nadal has done the same thing for his nephew who is only now beginning to speak his mind publicly.

Martina Hingis mother performed the same function. So did Kim Clijster's father.

I can go on and on. If Sloane is not willing to listen to reason, to not offend her betters, yes I say betters, women who went through hell to make her way easier her problems are only beginning.

I blame the US tennis establishment for this. Why? Because they only know how to create discord. The north Americans still don't understand how Spain has created a situation where publicly their players show respect for each other while regularly playing competitive matches. Sloane is now being coached by men from the USTA Player Development team who use the Pete Sampras vs Andre Agassi rivalry as a template for how top players should react to each other. Has she gotten good results with them? The answer right now, after a poor showing during Fed Cup and in every tournament since the Australian Open has to be no.

Meanwhile Madison Keys has kept her head down and worked on her game, making a good showing in taking out the number five seed Li Na as a Lucky Loser in Madrid.

It may be too late to do anything about Sloane's big mouth. If that is the way she wants to be perceived so be it. I wonder if she will take on the other bitch queen of the WTA Maria Sharapova? Somehow I doubt it. She's not winning fans or turning any sane person against Serena or Venus. Their careers speak for them. If Sloane has any sense she will focus on improving and letting her career speak for her instead of trying to tear down her betters.

Then again Sloane's career is speaking for her isn't it?

From Hunter to Hunted - American Girls

by Savannah

Sloane Stephens, semifinalist at January's Australian Open, lost in straight sets to Bethanie Mattek-Sands 6-2, 6-0, losing the last nine games of the match just like she did in Miami. The difference is in Miami she lost to the woman ranked #4 in the world. In Charleston she lost to #113. Sloane is ranked #16.

In a post match interview Stephens said the following:

“The last three months has definitely been super overwhelming and definitely really tough,” she said.

The admission echoed statements she had made in a in a roundtable interview Monday..

“From last year things have really changed, being seeded and getting byes first round, it’s definitely a completely different situation,” Stephens, who was ranked as low as No. 92 as recently as May 2012, said. “But I think the expectations are definitely tough. It’s just a completely different situation, but it’s definitely in perspective because I’ve gone through so many changes and so many different things.”

She added: “But I mean like I said, it’s a really good place to be in, and I’m happy that I’m in this situation, because if I wasn’t I’d obviously be grinding and struggling in qualies every week, and it’d be tough. But I think now I’ve done pretty well, and I just want to keep the momentum going.”

David Nainkin who was counseling her last week, was not there today. Instead Troy Hahn of the USTA was coaching her. His advice?

“This is your first week on clay — find the tennis you want to play,” said Hahn during an on-court coaching visit midway through the second set.

Yeah that would surely make me want to run out and do some stuff. Yeah.



I've been hearing about another young American woman, Jessica Pegula a lot since the beginning of the year. She took three sets to take out Garbine Muguruza, another up and comer from Spain, 6-7(2), 6-4, 7-5 Monday and faced the #8 seed Mona Barthel Tuesday. After a match like that you'd think the 19 year old would've been running on fumes but she made Barthel look totally inept and lost on the court as she took her out 7-6(4), 6-1. Pegula is a little more fit now than she is in the picture I posted but she's totally fit between the ears. Her coach, Michael Joyce, once coached someone named Maria Sharapova. His on court coaching was laid back and conversational. No screaming and gesticulating. Just a conversation between a coach and his charge.



Eighteen year old Grace Min is another young American who got a surprise win against a higher ranked player. She won her first set against Tamara Paszek, the #13 seed 6-3 after which Paszek promptly retired. I hope to see Grace play later this week.



Next up for Min will be 18 year old Madison Keys.Keys won her first round match 7-6(3), 6-4 against Alexandra Cadantu of Romania. I hope Min vs Keys is on a television court.

The one player Melanie Oudin has always been able to defeat is Jelena Jankovic. Today however JJ decided she wasn't having it and won the match 6-4, 5-7, 6-4. Melanie's coach was giving her decent advice, advice that enabled her to win the second set. But, and there's no delicate way to put it, Melanie needs to get off of the see food diet. All of the diminutive women players are fit. Look at Sara Errani or Dominika Cibulkova. Not a love handle or beer gut in sight. The smaller players need the mobility that fitness brings in order to compete with their bigger, stronger peers. I've talked about fitness and American tennis players, male and female, already this year. You may get lucky and win a set from a higher ranked player but winning, consistently winning, is a pipe dream without fitness and the discipline it requires.



I watched Christina McHale lose to fellow American Varvara Lepchenko 3-6, 6-4, 2-6 and wondered what had happened to her game. McHale has left USTA coaching and is working with Gordon Uehling. McHale is young enough to make a change that could show results by the time the US summer hard court season comes around.

All of these young women want to become the hunted but the support system around the top players, family, close friends, nutritionists, cushions them and allows them to focus on what they need to do to be at the top of the sport. All of these women are good, some are very good. The difference between them and the players at the top is coaching, and as I've already said, discipline. I'll be watching these players and hope to give a "Hunter to Hunted" report in August just before the US Open.

Belief

by Savannah

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



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

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

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



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



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



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



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

But in the end none of that matters.

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

The Whisper's Are Getting Louder...

by Savannah

The debate about the 5th Slam is over, at least for 2013. Indian Wells dropped that mic and Miami's flow is not working.
Is it time to take another look at the two events place in the calendar? Is it time for Miami to think about becoming a clay court tournament so that European players will be more inclined to stay and play? Will IMG give up it's control of the event?

Actually all of the questions are interrelated.

First the IMG story. The players highest in tennis fans esteem, Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer, left the fold last year. With no pipeline to the inside story I can only speculate and say that the decision was purely a business decision. The controversial head of IMG, Theodore Forstmann, died in November 2011. In doing some research I came across this:

The sale is expected to draw interest from big entertainment players ranging from Creative Artists Agency and William Morris to French media group Lagardere, according to the people familiar with the matter. Large private equity firms and billionaires are also expected to participate, the people said.
(...)
Forstmann Little has been holding on to the IMG investment for longer than a typical investment period for private equity, and has for years rebuffed overtures from prospective buyers. Buyout interest increased following Teddy Forstmann’s departure in April 2011 as IMG Chairman and CEO, and his death later that year.

Notable buyers that had approached Teddy Forstmann included former Yahoo CEO Terry Semel, who was willing to pay $1.5 billion for IMG in 2008. Sources told Reuters at the time Teddy Forstmann wanted at least twice the amount.

Both men have opted to work with their personal PR people.

Turmoil always opens the door to chaos and that seems to be what is reigning in Miami right now. The tournament admits that ticket sales are down. Indian Wells had record attendance.

Then the issue of so much hard court play came up. Victoria Azarenka, who seems to be the only top rated woman who uses her vocal chords on and off court raised it in relation to her injury. Rafa has been a one man band about it for awhile now.
I guess that's why the idea of Miami switching to clay has been floated.

Now to me clay is red clay, not the artificial stuff used in the United States. Hard court purists decry the slow hard courts of Indian Wells because the big servers don't do well on it. I have to think that for players coming off the South American swing it's a god send. Of course most North American players don't make that swing.

If the slow hard courts of Indian Wells hamper North American players why aren't they well represented in the late stages of Miami? The only American doing well is...Serena Williams. Oh yeah Sam Querrey is still around but if he makes the final I'll be surprised. Very surprised.

I don't think the USTA, after mounting a full court press to get rid of Monte Carlo as an event, will let Miami change to clay without a fight. I'm pretty sure it's loyal press will soon start posting stories about the glories of hard court play. We've already seen the idiotic results of strict enforcement of the twenty five second rule, an emphasis that makes it easy for largely immobile hard servers to stay competitive while those who play a more sophisticated game are supposed to suffer. The most experienced chair umps, after a long rally, give the players time. Steve Ulrich, with the freedom retirement brings, called the rule "crazy". And he's an American.

Then of course there's the issue of top players dropping like flies. Almost every day has brought another player pulling up lame or citing illness as the reason for their withdrawal. That is why Sam Querrey is still around. Milos Raonic said he has strep throat and is unable to play so Querrey got the walkover. I can imagine tournament officials holding the remaining seeds hostage to ensure their appearance.

Lastly if Miami is moved where would it go? The last thing the USTA wants is a player focused TD like Larry Ellison getting control of the event. I'm guessing it'll be some organization that will allow things to go on as they have been.

But the issue going forward will still be hard courts and their effect on players. The game is much more physical, requires much more thought than a fast hard court will allow. There has even been talk of reviving indoor carpet.

I think in the end Miami will stay where it is in the calendar and remain a hard court event. Sorry a fast hard court event.
Of course I could be wrong. Time will tell.

Miscellany



I think that we will soon be able to add Sloane Stephens to the trash heap next to Melanie Oudin. I'm being so harsh because I watched Sloane play a brilliant set of tennis against Aga Radwanska yesterday on her own, with no coach flying out of the stands to tell her what to do. After that set her new coach, USTA darling David Nainkin, came and talked to her. And that was it for Sloane. She stopped doing everything she'd done well and played right into The Queen Vulture's hands. I didn't hang around for the third set so missed seeing Sloane get served a bagel.

Any player can beat any other player on any given day. Look at what Alejandro Falla almost did to Tomas Berdych yesterday. And let's just forget how hard Serena had to fight to come back against Dominika Cibulkova.

On second thought lets not forget Serena's match. Domi was all over Serena like a cheap suit. Serena couldn't find the court. Her footwork was nonexistent. Her smashes were finding the net. But she took a deep breath and ended up a winner. Her father got so nervous he left the court. Patrick Mouratoglou looked like he was on pins and needles. But Serena sat on the sidelines and fought her way out of the trap she'd set for herself. This is what Sloane is going to have to learn to do. And attitude is not going to win anything for her. The top players see her coming now and be ready for her. Sloane, dearie,(I'm a big OUAT fan), all those people blowing smoke up your ass because you defeated a severely injured Serena in Australia are bullshitting you. You are not a top ten player. In fact you sound as if you'd be content to be a top thirty player. Think I'm kidding? This is what a fiery Sloane said at her post match presser yesterday:

Sloane Stephens: "I'm 16 in the world. I can lose in the first round the next 2 months and I prob would still be top 30. "

The above was posted by @jonwertheim but he wasn't the only one who posted it yesterday. That is not what you want an up and coming player to say. It's not what you want an up and coming player to even conceive of thinking. Unless Sloane has the cojones to go outside of the US coaching establishment I don't see her game maturing much beyond where it is now. That injured woman you played in Melbourne is sitting on top of the rankings Sloane. She didn't get there by being content with a lower ranking.

Ironically Sloane is allegedly seen by Sam Smith as being the only athlete among the younger players. It's something I've noticed but been loathe to bring up after the Patrick McEnroe comments about sixteen year old Taylor Townsend.

But Smith has a point. There is a difference between being slim and being fit. I've seen more spare tires around the waists of women much more mature than Townsend, players considered the top picks from their countries. No one is saying women have to go the Ana Ivanovic route but there has to be a happy medium.

As for the lack of television coverage for WTA matches I'm saying the same thing I've been saying. Improve your product and you will get butts in the seats and television coverage. Right now the WTA is getting what it pays for. It sucks for fans of women's tennis but it is what it is. All the photo shoots and red carpets won't change what happens on court. It says something when two 31 year old women are fitter than the young'uns. It would also help if the WTA got rid of on court coaching. It's a crutch a top player shouldn't want or need.

Crocodile Tears and Other Tennis Oddities

by Savannah

From Wikipedia:
Crocodile tears (or superficial sympathy) are a false or insincere display of emotion such as a hypocrite crying fake tears of grief.


The tennis tournament at San Jose, California, is no more. It's last champion is Milos Raonic of Canada. The owners of the tournament sold it to people in Rio di Janeiro, Brazil.

This wasn't something that was announced at the end of the tournament. It's been known for weeks. But this is the week the tennis establishment chose to whine about it, to express its collective grief at the loss of not only this tournament but the one in Los Angeles as well.

I found this article about it written by one of the big shots of tennis journalism.

...When the United States was dominating men's tennis and former major champions such as Sampras and Agassi were happy to play at one of their national tournaments, spectator attendances were good.

However, after Agassi retired in 2006 and Europeans began to dominate the tour, the event was unable to draw the very best players to the West Coast in early February when they knew they would have to travel to California for the mandatory Indian Wells tournament in March.

As well as the San Jose Open, California lost another of its events last year when the Los Angeles Open was sold and relocated to Bogota, Colombia.
(...)
"I look at France - they hang on to their events. If one city's event is not working they find another place for it to work and it's a wonderful way to keep their players plugging into the highest levels of game.

"In terms of player development and exposure to highest levels of game, I think it's worst possible scenario for the U.S."

I found these comments, one by Justin Gimelstob and the last by Leif Shiras, both former American players, amusing in view of the fact that the USTA set out a few years ago to destroy the Spring European clay court season to protect it's players who had no idea how to play on the slow red dirt of Europe and to try and force the top Europeans to come to the States. The Europeans took a firm stand and while some events got screwed and Monte Carlo was downgraded from a mandatory the Spring, outside of the two back to back hard court Masters in the United States, has remained a clay court extravaganza.

But before I get deeper into San Jose lets look at the farce surrounding Indian Wells. I know it's the BNP Paribas Open but for many tennis fans it's simply Indian Wells.

As you will recall Larry Ellis, the extremely wealthy owner of the tournament and avid tennis fan has worked very hard to make his event world class in coverage and players. It was reported that he was trying to convince WTA #1 Serena Williams and her sister Venus Williams to play the event again. It's obvious that hasn't happened but at least he made the effort.

That isn't what got him in trouble with the tournament director's on the ATP board though. What had them pulling their hair out by the roots was his plan to meet player demands and increase prize money. Feeling that Ellis would open the gates to the pitchfork and fire wielding peasants (read players) making increased demands his request was voted down.

So of course the apologists for the tour are now penning columns taking the position that voting down the pay increase for Indian Wells was the right thing to do.

It’s great that Indian Wells has this money and wants to share it with the players, but there’s a reason the Masters events are set up as as equals—similar prize money (some adjustments for length and currency), the same points, and mandatory entry. That means they don’t have to pay guarantees, which is huge, because it means the cash that would otherwise be thrown at the top players can instead go to prize money and tour payments. On top of that, it creates a series of identifiable events with consistent fields between the Grand Slams.

Generally, the feeling seems to be that this has worked out well. Do we really want to start messing with the Masters? Because if each tournament starts setting its own amounts, there’s going to be competition to see who can provide the most and they might no longer be equal. That might get the players’ prize-money increases to begin with, but could also lead to guarantees returning at this level, and tournaments folding or dropping back to a lower level. And that would mean less money for the average player.

Let's break this argument down.

The first point is that all of the Masters events are organized along the same lines

Secondly there are no guarantees for the top players. That money will continue to go toward prize money and payments to the tour.

The standardization of Masters events ensures that the top players will appear.

Lastly, it seems that competition among Masters level tournaments would increase competition between them and that the dreaded guarantees would become part of the equation.

Now, if you recall Jerzy Janowicz said that it made him feel better that the top players, except for Roger Federer, put themselves out acting for monetary distributions that would HELP lower ranked players not harm them. This article actually misrepresents the players position but it's easy to do that if your sources are middling former players and sources tightly linked to the ATP Board.

An article on ESPN about the legacy of current ATP CEO Brad Drewett who is stepping down due to illness says the following:

Interesting to read that the next stage of his(Drewett's) plan was to boost prize money at the Masters tournaments, yet he abstained from being the deciding vote in approving the Indian Wells prize money increase in November.

Lets be very clear. The USTA, through it's influence on the ATP Board of Directors, did all it could to try and force the top players to come play hard court tournaments by destroying the European clay court season. Instead it is the North American tournaments that are packing their bags and leaving for foreign shores. I dare any tennis fan to look at the Main Draws in Memphis and not wonder if you are looking at Challenger event line ups.

There's an old saying about what happens when you dig a grave for someone. I think the USTA has put itself in that situation.

Miscellany

Quote of the Week via Sloane Stephens

"Obviously it's really tough week in and week out playing perfect tennis and just really being able to execute," Stephens quoted as saying. I sincerely hope that the United States tennis establishment doesn't ruin Sloane's career before it even starts.
Melanie Oudin Sloane. Think about what the pressure and premature glory did to her.


If a tree falls in the forest...you all know that expression. If no one hears it does it make noise is how the expression ends. Both WTA #1 Serena Williams and WTA #2 Victoria Azarenka quietly withdrew from the Premier event in Dubai with injury. The sky hasn't fallen, the earth is still spinning on its axis, and I haven't seen anyone losing their shit over the withdrawals. Both were expected and its understood that both women want to rest. Serena will get a nice long break before she plays Miami and Azarenka will rest before playing Indian Wells.

By the way Azarenka did nothing to improve her cheater reputation in the Doha final when she continually held up her racquet when Serena was ready to serve and the chair, Eva Asderaki, did nothing about it. The crowd was firmly behind Serena the entire tournament and I'm sure it was a welcome change from American crowds for Serena.

Speaking of negligent chair umpires if you didn't see Caroline Wozniacki's father going H.A.M. on the chair here's the video of the incident.



Keep in mind no one suffered any consequences. The father refused to leave and the daughter was being a brat, her frequent on court persona these days. Now imagine if Richard Williams had been present at the Doha final when Azarenka was getting away with murder and jawed like this at the chair. If they have SWAT teams in Qatar they would've been brought in to drag Mr. Williams out by the hair. Instead the TD simply laughs it off and amazingly the chair umpire does what Caroline wanted and orders the point be replayed.

I need someone, anyone, to explain to me why fines weren't levied. Oh, wait, my bad. It was the WTA CEO who nicknamed Caroline "Sunshine". I guess she can do no wrong even when she embarrasses the sport and herself with this display. The only thing I can conclude is that if you're a blonde and a favorite of the WTA establishment you can do whatever you want on court and nothing will happen to you. Not that I think Azarenka is a big favorite but if any other player did what she did during the Doha final she would've been called for hindrance. Both of these women represent the WTA in the wider world of sports. That blatant cheating and intimidation is tolerated when some players do it is a disgrace to not just women's tennis but all of tennis.

To show what happens when cheating is tolerated Sara Errani was playing Sorana Cirstea in Dubai today. Cirstea got herself on a roll and Errani called for the trainer. Nine to ten minutes later she resumed play and that was all she wrote for Ms Cirstea. What can the WTA do to Errani when they did nothing to Ms Azarenka? I'd be willing to bet the only players who won't pull crap like this are surnamed Williams. They respect the game too much to disgrace it in this manner.

I do have a question though: When is the last time Andy Murray played a tournament?