tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-89488014685160438222024-03-13T16:15:38.166+00:00Tennis Is Served...For The Discerning Tennis ConnoisseurZafarhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11909444215193865334noreply@blogger.comBlogger681125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8948801468516043822.post-48902800412552483562013-11-25T15:16:00.000+00:002013-11-25T15:56:34.704+00:00Loss, and Serbian Davis Cup Dismay<span style="font-size: 85%">Losses are dispiriting. And, often, something far worse. The way we process loss tends to vary, mainly because, well, people do too.</span><br /><br /><center><a href='https://picasaweb.google.com/zafar.ansari1/TennisIsServed_IPhone02#5950226127985554130'><img src='https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-dDqPlq2Pfuo/UpNzI0PTstI/AAAAAAAAC6w/1WgB-LykbeI/s288/1385335957.706450.jpg' border='0' width='450' height='253' style='margin:5px'></a></center><br /><span style="font-size: 85%">Some require catharsis. An electrifying effusion of rage and grief whose undiscriminating solar wind incinerates everything in its wake and thereby - it is to be hoped - sets the scene for healing and acceptance. Unsurprisingly, many opt to draw on their support structures (where available). <br />Others face misfortune with something resembling stoicism, preferring quiet, solitude and the cultivation of hope.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-size: 85%">There's really no prescribed way through disappointment - beyond the fact that you'll have to weather it. And depending on its magnitude it can sometimes feel like those well-meaning anecdotes on personal growth and self-discovery through the 'loss of innocence' are largely platitudinous and simply in place to keep you from feeling a mess.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-size: 85%">Almost all coping mechanisms will, however, feature an element of introspection and rationalisation.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-size: 85%">Some such searches will yield more satisfying answers than others, though even where blame can be neatly ascribed to 'this' or 'that' or 'him' or 'her', the journey seems to be at least as important as any insight or closure it affords.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-size: 85%">More commonly though the question of 'why' or 'how' is a fraught, intractable and confused mesh of inter-dependencies within which ideas like "blame" will collapse into their most abstract form. At least temporarily anyway.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-size: 85%">Something like this has been playing out within the Serbian DC team (and indeed its band of supporters as well as the wider commentariat) in the wake of last weekend's loss to the Czech Rep.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-size: 85%">Novak was of course roundly expected to come through both his singles rubbers perhaps only dropping a set to Tomas. He didn't drop a single set as it turned out - no one did, in fact, in <i>any</i> rubber for the first time in DC final history (the US didn't drop a set to Italy in the 1979 final either, but the opening rubber ended by way of a retirement after only one set. #History).</span><br /><br /><span style="font-size: 85%">With Troicki and Tipsarevic sidelined however, the Serbs fielded 117 ranked Dusan Lajovic to play Berdych. As expected both teams were one a piece at the end of day one.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-size: 85%">With the remaining singles seemingly set to mirror day one, doubles - now effectively a deciding rubber - assumed an almost seismic significance.</span><br /><br /><center><a href='https://picasaweb.google.com/zafar.ansari1/TennisIsServed_IPhone02#5950226154649430530'><img src='https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-WnezMefdcAI/UpNzKXkeKgI/AAAAAAAAC64/PYNseHDHkvw/s288/1385390933.314619.jpg' border='0' width='450' height='290' style='margin:5px'></a></center><br /><span style="font-size: 85%">The true story of why Djokovic was benched for that fateful doubles rubber may never be known. There were reports of him being exhausted (and we might reasonably assume being rested for reverse singles). There were also reports of it being a "team decision". Speculation soon flowed that it might be mostly or wholly Novak's choice. And then of course there were those more fractious post match reports of everyone in the team (inc. Nenad) rounding on Nenad's evident underperformance. Nenad himself eventually indicated that "keeping the Ferrari in the garage" was a mistake. (Radek was perhaps alluding to Novak's greatness. I don't claim to understand what was going through <a target="_blank" href="https://twitter.com/jayjarrahi/status/402198266600644608">Tomas' head</a>. Nothing probably).</span><br /><br /><span style="font-size: 85%">I expect the post-mortem will go on for some time. While that impulse is undoubtedly instinctive and perfectly sound, it's probably asking too much of the participants to play the role of staid, detached auditors.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-size: 85%">However messy catharsis might already be, finding answers becomes exponentially more fraught when it takes place within the unholy alchemy of conflicting personalities, the oppressive weight of national expectation (including, but not limited to, the need to placate a visceral fanbase), the unforgiving nature of the public eye and the sheer immediacy of the loss.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-size: 85%">One only needs to take a look at the happenings in the Argentine locker room to know that this phenomenon isn't peculiar to any one nation. But it can sometimes lead people to see things that <i>really aren't there</i>.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-size: 85%">It's certainly not *inconceivable* that having Novak play doubles might have lent a different colour to proceedings. At the very least the presence of the world's best on court has to come with some pretty unique psychological benefits.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-size: 85%">But it is possible to oversell this. It has been. It *is* being. The reality is that Novak simply isn't a good doubles player. Quite apart from his suspect doubles record, his even more 'suspect' overhead and how unnatural he still sometimes is in the forecourt, you have to indulge in a kind of bullish conceit to imagine that skills cultivated and rooted almost wholly on or around the baseline might be immediately transposed to a doubles court</span>. <br /><br /><span style="font-size: 85%">I wouldn't go as far as to say it's a different sport, but it's simply incontestable that doubles has its own distinct skillset and a dynamic that is almost foreign to most singles players (yes, even Novak). While it may be a different story if they were involved with doubles all year round, and while more top singles players could, on average, make the transition than vice versa, singles players just aren't the de facto 'star players' they're often made out to be.</span><br /><br /><center><a href='https://picasaweb.google.com/zafar.ansari1/TennisIsServed_IPhone02#5950226179627826450'><img src='https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-o6IrKvLrBMo/UpNzL0nyPRI/AAAAAAAAC7A/H8sKIWqm5io/s288/1385336639.226982.jpg' border='0' width='450' height='317' style='margin:5px'></a></center><br /><span style="font-size: 85%">That's not to say Nenad didn't clearly underperform or that Novak definitely wouldn't have instilled a little extra something against one of the most successful DC doubles pairings out there. But would this be an issue if even *one* of Troicki or Tipsarevic were present?<br /><br /><i>And would we not be demanding the head, and quite possibly the entrails, of Obradovic if the much touted benefits of Djokovic's aura failed to materialise?</i></span><br /><br /><span style="font-size: 85%">It's very easy to posit robust sounding tactical corrections *after* matches have been lost. And it's very easy to pretend we'd not be seeing precisely the opposite analysis couched in equally confident terms if Novak's inclusion failed to have the desired effect (and, I hardly need add, left him even more exhausted for singles).</span><br /><br /><span style="font-size: 85%">But whether we choose to admit it or not, Troicki's and Tipsarevic's absence remains the single most causal factor for why we are where we are.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-size: 85%">It's one thing to want to strategise optimally <i>given</i> those glaring gaps in the Serbian team, and quite another to abandon all reason by losing sight of the fact that those gaps ever existed, narrowly restricting one's focus instead to "Ferraris" and "underperformance".</span><br /><br /><span style="font-size: 85%">Perhaps the most emblematic illustration of the unhelpful and unhealthy consequences of leaving that frenzied appetite for answers unchecked, are those reports of Nenad being held responsible by the whole team - even appearing to be convinced of that himself.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-size: 85%">Again, expecting the epitome of dry objectivity from Team Serbia at this point is a little short-sighted - to say nothing of the complete want of empathy it shows. They'll likely take a more measured view of things with the passage of time. And even if they don't it will hurt a whole lot less.<br /></span><br /><span style="font-size: 85%">People often need (more than can be stated) such wholesale rationalisations to make sense of the world in the wake of disappointment. But that doesn't mean we continue with the conceit long after the sell-by date of its therapeutic value.</span><br /> <br /><span style="font-size: 85%">You don't bring a knife to a gunfight. But then you don't bring a Ferrari to terrain it's so obviously unsuited for either (especially when it has to race the next day). Sometimes the garage is <i>exactly</i> where it belongs.</span><br />Zafarhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11909444215193865334noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8948801468516043822.post-58724767248089842302013-07-31T21:30:00.001+01:002013-07-31T21:30:03.584+01:00Viktor Troicki and Anti-Doping ad-hoc-ery<br /><br /><br /><span style="font-size: 85%"><br />You can certainly argue Troicki's suspension (full statement <a target="_blank" href="http://www.itftennis.com/media/152389/152389.pdf">here</a>) could be shorter. <br /><br />You can also argue that whilst she didn't perhaps give any "assurances", that the DCO may have been ambiguous, and that she possibly didn't go far enough in removing all doubts as to what Troicki was leaving himself open to.<br /><br />You can definitely argue that the ITF have emerged from this as a writhing mass of incompetence and that <i>five blood tests over the entirety of Troicki's career</i> is beyond parody.</span><br /><br /><center><a href='https://picasaweb.google.com/zafar.ansari1/TennisIsServed_IPhone02#5906879671010313922'><img src='https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-E9WnmOvYOO8/Uflzw8mLxsI/AAAAAAAAC44/ClTiOmE4qwA/s288/3.jpg' border='0' width='400' height='225' style='margin:5px'></a></center><br /><span style="font-size: 85%"><br />It's difficult though, given Troicki's age and experience, to understand just how he imagined a hastily drafted note at the eleventh hour would excuse him from a blood test - not just in today's BioGenesised climate, but in any climate. In any case, the BCF he signed lays out (with or without the attached sick-note) the consequences of refusing a sample quite starkly.<br /><br />There appears to be zero doubt, then, that an offense was committed, whatever else one might think of the length of the suspension (and which may still, remember, be reduced on appeal). The consequences of letting this slide, or even of treating a refusal any differently to actually testing positive, should, I hope, be very evident.<br /><br />That doesn't mean, however, that certain aspects of the tribunal's decision don't deserve more scrutiny.</span><br /><span style="font-size: 85%"><br />They seem, in particular, to be placing a lot of stock in the fact that Troicki behaved in an inconsistent way - whilst also, I might remind you, accepting that he had, under stress, convinced himself (quite wrongly of course) the DCO was offering him "assurances", hearing what he wanted to hear, and "elevated" what was, in fact, standard procedure activated in the event of a refused sample, to the level of a "potential solution to the problem" he faced.<br /><br />On the one hand, you can't really fault this approach: the tribunal can only rely on uncontested facts and use any remaining inconsistencies in testimonies to piece together what parties thought was happening versus a viable approximation of what actually <i>did</i>.<br /><br />To make matters even simpler they've, quite reasonably it appears, 'Occamised' things, opting to focus solely on the exchange that took place between Troicki and the DCO.</span><br /><span style="font-size: 85%"><br />Having done all that, Dr Gorodilova was assessed as having imparted her duties correctly, and as having given a credible and coherent account of events. Troicki's testimony, meanwhile, was riddled with inconsistencies. The wonder that is Jack Reader was disregarded altogether.<br /><br />Anything less than a suspension under such circumstances would be rightly regarded as a farce.<br /><br />But let's be clear about this: the tribunal's decision relies on a quite specific reading of Troicki's behavior.<br /><br />Paragraph thirty-three's contention, in particular, that Troicki's misinterpretation couldn't have extended so far as to have warranted the assertion he made to Braetov seems to me to require a leap of faith; which isn't uncommon, but quite a lot has been made of this, and against a backdrop of other similarly ad-hoc reasoning (see later) and an entrenched opacity from the anti-doping bodies, it does give one pause.</span><br /><blockquote><span style="font-size: 85%"><i>We should make it clear that we are not here suggesting that Dr Gorodilova was at all unclear in what she stated to Mr Troicki, rather that Mr Troicki (in the circumstances and for the reasons stated above) was misinterpreting her various statements. That said, <b>we do not accept that Mr Troicki misinterpreted Dr Gorodilova to an extent that warranted the assertion made by him shortly afterwards to Mr Bratoev. His attempt to speak to Dr Miller, the content of his letter to Dr Miller (“thank you very much in advance for your understanding”; and the absence of any mention in that letter of assurances given to him by Dr Gorodilova or of any understanding on the part of Mr Troicki that he was justified in not giving blood), his failure to complain to Dr Gorodilova on 16 April 2013 when it became clear to him that his failure to give a sample might prove problematic (or even to mention to her in that context any assurances given by her the previous day) and the qualifications contained within his statement written four days later, all clearly indicate that Mr Troicki was not as confident as to the outcome as he wanted Mr Bratoev to believe was the case.</b> One can speculate as to why Mr Troicki exaggerated the position to Mr Bratoev as he did; Mr Troicki came across to us as someone prone to exaggeration in order to make his point, but it may have been that he expressed himself in a way designed to avoid the possibility of Mr Bratoev telling him to go back to take the test.</i></span></blockquote><br /><span style="font-size: 85%"><br />a) 'It should be ok' - Whether or not she used those words, assume for a moment that the DCO <i>was</i> ambiguous (the tribunal was a little thin on the scrutiny she was put under): does it necessarily follow that Troicki should, in the letter he wrote to Dr Miller, make reference to the assurances he believed he was receiving, as implied by paragraph 33? And that the absence of such a mention must, therefore, indicate he wasn't truly convinced he was being assured?<br /><br />I don't see it. While it might have made sense to include it, it's absence is neither here nor there (obvious differences aside, can <i>you</i> recall ever prefacing any sick note you've ever written with your understanding of its procedural role? I can't).<br /><br />Indeed, if you believe that Viktor convinced himself that the DCO's instructions to write a letter to Dr Miller entailed her assurance that this would not then return to bite him in the ass (and bear in mind the tribunal concedes he convinced himself of precisely that), it's quite easy to conceive of him as following her instructions, safe in the knowledge that this is the way things are done, and that writing to 'the man that is deciding things' would alleviate him of any further responsibility. It's not clear to me that leaving out explicit mention of those assurances changes any of that, however bewildering we might find his choices.</span><br /><span style="font-size: 85%"><br />b) What about the fact that he didn't complain to Dr Gorodilova when he was recalled back to her office a day later, that he made no mention of assurances supposedly only given 24 hours ago? Wouldn't that be precisely the moment to speak up?<br /><br />This is more difficult to explain. But remember, we're not dealing with coherent behavior. <br /><br />He may simply have arrived in her office determined to do whatever it took to put this behind him: complaining, and confronting a DCO on the way she's going about things is hardly conducive to that effort.<br /><br />Clearly a stretch, but not the hopeless implausibility we're being lead to believe.</span><br /><span style="font-size: 85%"><br />c) As to the later qualification he issued "wanted to be 100% sure" that too doesn't, in itself, betray any lack of certainty in any assurances he thought he was receiving - people often go to great lengths, engaging in further supplementary efforts, to secure peace of mind in matters where certainty already exists. We've all been there.<br /><br />In no way is any of this an endorsement of Troicki's decision-making, which even in its most sympathetic rendering remains extraordinarily clueless; nor, as already mentioned, do I think the tribunal weren't completely justified in issuing a suspension.<br /><br />It's a stretch though to infer (as paragraph 33 does) that inconsistent behaviour, in itself, somehow belies a certainty in his beliefs.<br /><br />We've surely met enough irrational, yet quite committed, people to know that behavioural inconsistencies with professed beliefs don't often have any real bearing on anything - least of all the strength of their convictions.</span><br /><br /><center><a href='https://picasaweb.google.com/zafar.ansari1/TennisIsServed_IPhone02#5906879687296872770'><img src='https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-rLCrnse1cAo/Uflzx5RM8UI/AAAAAAAAC5A/RtxY3b_ROe0/s288/4.jpg' border='0' width='400' height='283' style='margin:5px'></a></center><br /><span style="font-size: 85%"><br />Furthermore, if you concede (as the tribunal has) that someone's acted irrationally, that their faculties are "impaired", that they've even "blanked out" anything that doesn't cohere with what they want to believe, you don't then get to make logical inferences based on their manifestly illogical behaviour - or at least, to read a whole lot into it when things don't add up <i>("We accept Viktor convinced himself of gibberish but only up to a point." "Why 'only up to a point'?" "Because we reconciled that gibberish against gibberish and it turns out it's gibberish." "Oh.").</i><br /><br />That's not to say Troicki definitely wasn't less than certain in his fantastical convictions (or even that he wasn't being evasive) - merely to point out that we simply don't know, and probably never will. <br /><br />It's entirely proper for the tribunal to pore over Viktor's many inconsistencies and to then determine that their <i>collective weight</i>, together with further discrepancies from Reader, as well as the strength of the DCO's testimony, renders the idea of his being something less than certain, to be, on balance, the <i>likeliest</i> of theories (I know I buy that). But that's very different to saying irreconcilable behaviour must, of necessity, betray that lack of certainty - an assertion, not that different, in nature, to the kind of "elevation" the tribunal suggests Viktor engaged in.</span><br /><span style="font-size: 85%"><br />This is important, as you otherwise open the door to the suggestion that Troicki isn't being entirely honest about things - the tribunal, in one its finest moments, diplomatically side-steps this inconvenience by characterising Viktor as 'prone to exaggeration' (fine, but that does seem to suggest that they too see a problem here). <br /><br />It actually feels as if they thought an act of misinterpretation wouldn't, in itself, warrant the kind of sanction they wanted to impose: Viktor did, after all, refuse a sample - you can quite easily see the precedent of, say, a 6 month ban for something as serious as that being abused quite horribly.<br /><br />Introducing this more 'intangible' sense of 'not-quite' wrongdoing clears the way for a stiffer ban whilst preserving the innocuous basis for the misinterpretation. <br /><br />But while we likely all have a private view on the veracity of his claims, it's all too easy to transpose that view upon what the tribunal <i>also</i> found:</span><br /><span style="font-size: 85%"><br />- they accepted his phobia of needles and how weak he looked that day.<br /><br />- they actually went as far as to confirm that they didn't believe he was trying to "evade detection of a banned substance".<br /><br />- any inconsistency in his testimony was clearly framed in terms of "stress", "impaired faculties", his being "prone to exaggeration" even, but never anything more sinister. Never, that is, except in a resolutely harsh reading of paragraph 33 (which I'd argue it leaves itself open to).<br /><br />Not everyone will buy this, and that's ok, because even this more sympathetic view of his actions is based upon a 'balance of probabilities' - a judgement call, in other words, not dissimilar to the type of judgement call being made in paragraph 33.<br /><br />The truth is, we can't ever know that Viktor wasn't being evasive any more than we can know exactly what impression the DCO gave him. Viktor not making any mention of "assurances" in a letter he hastily scrawled at the last minute, labouring, we are told, under a misapprehension, doesn't change any of that.<br /><br />And that really goes to the heart of the problem. Because this isn't the only place where the reasoning feels less than rigorous: the decision not to require Troicki to forfeit his winnings in events subsequent to the date of the offence, right up to Umag, has proved even more difficult to digest.<br /></span><br /><blockquote><span style="font-size: 85%"><i>Article 10.8 of the Programme provides that “all other competitive results obtained from the date the Sample in question was collected...or other Anti-Doping Rule Violation occurred through to the start of the Ineligibility period shall be Disqualified (with all of the resulting consequences, including forfeiture of any medals, titles, ranking points and Prize Money), unless the Independent tribunal determines that fairness requires otherwise”. The ITF submits that the burden is on Mr Troicki to establish why fairness requires otherwise in the circumstances of his case. Accepting that burden, Mr Troicki argues that it would be unfair to Disqualify him in respect of subsequent events because he was truly convinced that he had not broken the Rules.<br /><br />While we have not accepted that as a fair summary of the player’s state of mind at the time, <b>we are nonetheless of the view that fairness dictates that Mr Troicki should not suffer any Disqualification beyond the event in question. In reaching that conclusion, we have borne in mind the helpful analysis of the relevant authorities on this point in the case of Bogomolov (an ITF Anti- Doping Tribunal Decision of 18 January 2005). It seems to us that, in circumstances where the Anti-Doping Rule Violation is constituted by a failure or refusal to submit to giving a sample, where there is no suggestion that this failure or refusal was in fact prompted by the player’s desire to evade the detection of a banned substance in his system, where there have been subsequent negative tests (including on the following day) and where the facts of the case warrant some mitigation of sanction under Article 10.5.2 of the Programme, it would be disproportionate to penalise Mr Troicki in respect of his subsequent playing activities. </b>We accept that there is something to be said for the view (advanced by the ITF in argument in Bogomolov) that the Programme is designed to encourage players voluntarily to abstain from competing pending the decision on their case and that Article 10.8 should be read against that background. However, we do not consider that, on the facts of this case, Mr Troicki should be penalised in effect because he chose not to take that voluntary course.</i></span></blockquote><br /><span style="font-size: 85%"><br />Perhaps the most damning revelation is that that a negative blood test given 24 hours after it was first requested (quite enough time for substances to leave no trace) is being taken as support for there being "no suggestion that this failure or refusal was in fact prompted by the player’s desire to evade the detection of a banned substance in his system".<br /><br />Despite the very evident disparity between how understanding, congenial even, the tone here appears to be vs. how restrictive and specific things get in the case of paragraph 33, the reasoning in both cases feels similarly ad-hoc. There may be very valid reasons for this - we're not privy to everything, of course - but it's hard to escape a feeling that something's either missing or remiss. Neither instils much confidence.<br /><br />If we are to have confidence in the testing process, reasoning, <i>both for and against</i> athletes finding themselves in this position, has to be less opaque, demonstrably consistent, and far more robust. We simply can't get to that point if distilled, hygienic, some would say tokenistic, rulings like this continue to trickle intermittently down to us from some magical wormhole up above based largely, it would seem, upon the whim of the authorities.<br /><br />What are its guiding principles? <br /><br />What accountability is in place in respect of the conduct of DCOs and other testing officials?<br /><br />Who does one escalate to in the event of a refused sample?<br /><br />Are they required to be on the other end of a phone, and if not what are the limits on how long they may take to make themselves available?<br /><br />Is it standard practice to get the athlete concerned to attempt to contact them with a fax number?<br /><br />Are just 5 blood tests over a 7 year period considered acceptable?<br /><br />Are the reasons for this <a target="_blank" href="https://twitter.com/sportingintel/status/362535822249046017">indecently low number</a> purely budgetary? And if so, what precisely needs to happen (besides everything that already has) for that to change? What is scandal tolerance threshold?<br /><br />Are so-called 'silent bans' solely the province of folklore and conspiracy theorists?<br /><br />What is the specific protocol for the publicising of an offence?<br /><br />Should there be such a disparity in the length of various suspensions?<br /><br />What guidelines are in place to shape understanding of 'mitigation' and 'compelling justification'?<br /><br />What, if any, is the cut off from the committal of a doping offence to when a suspension formally begins?<br /><br />I suspect that none of these questions have one-line answers, and it's really quite juvenile to expect every internal procedure to be made public; but the call for more transparency will only continue to get louder and, I'm guessing, more abrasive with each passing month.<br /><br />Without such transparency, and with the continuing fallout of the Biogenesis affair, it's no longer fanciful to think this smacks of more worrying systemic failures within the heart of the testing process.<br /><br />It's a tad heavy-handed to call it a 'heart of darkness' just yet. But, of course, all that depends on how much opacity we are prepared to tolerate.</span><br /><br />(Photo: Fox Sports Asia, AP)<br />Zafarhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11909444215193865334noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8948801468516043822.post-82376126438987997192013-07-11T21:38:00.001+01:002013-07-11T21:38:29.929+01:00Marion Bartoli is more than just a bundle of quirks<span style="font-size: 85%">It wasn't something you could immediately explain, but in only a matter of hours following Marion Bartoli's Wimbledon win this Saturday, something about the way this was being processed and sold felt a little off.</span><br /><br /><center><a href='https://picasaweb.google.com/zafar.ansari1/TennisIsServed_IPhone02#5899460117074228626'><img src='https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-Bq0ASj2ylZU/Ud8XuETLNZI/AAAAAAAAC4M/OuXHU4_io3g/s288/5.jpg' border='0' width='300' height='187' style='margin:5px'></a></center><br /><span style="font-size: 85%">As the world sits up and takes note, the only touchpoints offered with which we are to appreciate this oft-neglected, very talented and, yes, quite unique player are her eccentricities.<br /><br />It's understandable, of course: no other player or lay person I know has that elaborate a training regime, or practices with that amount of intricate elastic attached to her arms and legs, or with balls under her feet - or <a target="_blank" href="http://Instagram.com/p/bVuee2xlUy/">like this</a>. Nor, assuming that's what's happening, can I blame the media very much for trying to popularise a "lesser-light" to people who only watch tennis for four (or just two) weeks of the year.<br /><br />But it's also a resolutely blinkered portrayal: whilst her methods are undoubtedly novel, the real reason, I suspect, we are seeing this over-egging of her indie-factor is that she doesn't, for the most part, look like a tennis player. And, well, that presents a quandary.<br /><br />That probably needs elaboration: what that actually means is, she doesn't conform to "our" expectations - expectations conditioned by years of societal and media-honed iconography of what a female athlete <i>and physicality itself</i> is supposed to look like.<br /><br />This has led to her being likened to a Rottweiler on air (yes battling players are sometimes described in animalistic terms but ask yourself how desirable this really is and why Sharapova would almost certainly never have that term used about her), having her drive and work ethic <a target="_blank" href="http://m.guardian.co.uk/sport/2013/jul/06/john-inverdale-marion-bartoli?CMP=twt_gu">explained away</a> as a coming-to-terms of sorts with the idea of never being able to look like Sharapova, and receiving a horribly predictable torrent of insults on Twitter.<br /><br />People really have a problem with Marion Bartoli winning Wimbledon (and that's before one even approaches the question of asterisks). The only surprise there, sadly, is how unsurprising that is.</span><br /><br /><center><a href='https://picasaweb.google.com/zafar.ansari1/TennisIsServed_IPhone02#5899460136417928210'><img src='https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-DGngCpmqAnM/Ud8XvMXEpBI/AAAAAAAAC4U/Uz8aH4f87Dw/s288/3.jpg' border='0' width='400' height='240' style='margin:5px'></a></center><br /><span style="font-size: 85%">Yet even in what appear to be genuine efforts to give her her dues, the adulatory notes inevitably seem to give way to an all too familiar celebration of her quirkiness.<br /><br />I like this to a point. The use of such a 'hook' seems to me to be a good way to catalyse interest in what is after all a diverse array of vibrant and interesting personalities not normally known to viewers who don't follow this sport year round the way I do.<br /><br />Even within the ranks of tennisheads you wouldn't count amongst her fans, there exists an appetite to celebrate Marion <i>for being Marion</i> - it just seems ideologically unsound not to. So why on this occasion does it feel lazy, somewhat insipid, and, well, a bit of a cop out?<br /><br />It's not that here haven't been some perfectly good profiles of her win setting out both the context and history of her journey, warts and all.<br /><br />Nor am I suggesting that allusions to her quirks aren't in many cases (though clearly not all) benign and affectionate. I hardly need add that no profile can hope to steer <i>completely</i> clear of her oddities. Would we even want to read that?<br /><br /><b>Perhaps what I find so discomfitting is the credence this may give to the idea that she's only worth talking about <i>because</i> of these peculiarities.</b><br /><br />Such treatment would, after all, be entirely at one with the type of banal coverage women's tennis often (some notable exceptions, as always) receives and with which Inverdale's comment - which, incidentally, has actually been trotted out in one form or another by many, well before his use of the word 'looker' this year - almost perfectly coheres.<br /><br />Whether it's those tiresome 'decibelle' features, 'irreverent' debates about equal prize money, or quite deliberate scorn masquerading as nostalgia for an age of variety, the enduring subtext is this: beyond the glamazons and those too-big-to-ignore (already a problematic stratification), women's tennis is decidedly <i>second tier</i> - and the second tier of <i>that</i> second tier (of which Bartoli is a constituent) is something to be endured, politely exhibited perhaps but not engaged with in any serious sense. <br /><br />You don't tend, after all, to be quite that denigrating towards a product you're supposed to endorse, value and enjoy.<br /><br />You might, therefore, say Bartoli hasn't been a staple of the media for a very different, darker sort of non-conformance. Female athletes have always been judged by their looks - often to the total exclusion of their abilities and accolades - and held against an absurdly singular vision of 'body ideal' that our senses are daily trained to further imbibe and aspire to.</span><br /><br /><center><a href='https://picasaweb.google.com/zafar.ansari1/TennisIsServed_IPhone02#5899460146999680658'><img src='https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-mjart573ISU/Ud8Xvzx9XpI/AAAAAAAAC4c/mtP672TKGwU/s288/4.jpg' border='0' width='400' height='240' style='margin:5px'></a></center><br /><span style="font-size: 85%">I don't presume to understand how Bartoli made sense of all this growing up but there's little doubt she's not about to let such vacuous notions of brand and marketability bother her now - her brushing aside of Inverdale's 'banter' was quite satisfactory in that regard. If, that is, we were ever in any doubt as to how she rolls.<br /><br />But against that backdrop - and even allowing for a certain wackiness (we're not likely to see her accomplish this feat ever again) - it's difficult to avoid a feeling that someone who wasn't even accorded her own shirt sponsor <a target="_blank" href="http://www.womenstennisblog.com/2011/10/31/marion-bartoli-finally-has-a-clothing-sponsor-lotto/">until late 2011</a> isn't, at times, being treated as a bit of a sideshow.<br /><br />That 'The Misfit' - a lovingly endowed moniker by her fans - isn't in the context of that murky place known as 'the world we live in' simply one of many tropes commissioned in order to avoid engaging with women's tennis in a way which should, by now, be axiomatic.<br /><br />All in all, I'd say that's a bit of a shame considering tennis is one of very few global sports that can boast comparable participation and earnings amongst both genders.<br /><br />Put simply, the occasion of her winning arguably the biggest title in tennis ought to be the moment for precisely such engagement, whatever else might have gone on to this point.<br /><br />Especially if you're serious about grabbing the interest of young girls who need role models besides Maria and Serena - who, great as they are, can seem a little larger than life at times.<br /><br />Far easier to comedify the funny-bouncy-lady who came through what was unarguably 'Wacky Wimbledon'.<br /><br />***<br /><br />The above notwithstanding, there's just no getting away from it: in her training methods, the way she plays, and in her dealings with the FFT, Bartoli is the antithesis of formulaic. Most people seem to agree this is no bad thing.<br /><br />Yet what can sometimes get overlooked is that it's that very strain of determination and stubbornness to go about things <i>precisely as she sees fit</i>, that has (quite unsurprisingly actually) rendered her more relatable than countless other more media-compliant players are allowed (or allow themselves) to get.<br /><br />Marion catnaps between matches, paints, giggles uncontrollably with her new team, and as far as I can tell, lives and loves life in ways which aren't always that dissimilar to many of us. Yes, there's an incurable oddball at the heart of this, but don't kid yourself we don't see these people all the time.</span><br /><br /><center><a href='https://picasaweb.google.com/zafar.ansari1/TennisIsServed_IPhone02#5899460166577839250'><img src='https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-BLimQO9zQnA/Ud8Xw8twXJI/AAAAAAAAC4k/hvEKfxN7Zpg/s288/6.jpg' border='0' width='400' height='300' style='margin:5px'></a></center><br /><span style="font-size: 85%">The kooks are all around us everywhere, all the time. In thrall to no one, and nothing but themselves, doing their bit to add to the entropy of our lives, everyday, little by little - staving off a <i>Meagresville</i> of sobriety, uniformity and compliance.<br /><br />You know the type. We all do.<br /><br />She hasn't always got it right. Her episode with the FFT could be construed as the authorities throwing their weight around, or a diabolically stubborn miscalculation on her part depending on whose side you're on. And amongst some, the view is that the decision to appoint a new dad-less team could have come sooner.<br /><br />But isn't that what we all do when we believe in something?<br /><br />Nor - and this is equally important - has she chosen to court popularity by cultivating that unbearable air of faux-eccentricity; by going out of her way to provide "quote", sporting ever-more mysterious tattoos, professing ever-more controversial opinions and generally providing the kind of fodder that makes some profile writers drool, but doesn't, in the clear light of day, actually stack up to a whole lot of <i>anything</i>.<br /><br />Whatever else one might think of her, she's succeeded through discipline, rigour, the courage of her very well documented convictions, and, dare I say it, a terribly old-fashioned love of her craft, without recourse to the kind of swanky sponsorships that we are told are so important.<br /><br />She's what I imagine an intelligent, articulate person that happens to be prodigiously talented at tennis <i>being themselves</i> actually looks like.<br /><br />And that's why I'm a fan.<br /><br />(Pics: Reuters, Julian Finney/Getty, Adam Davy/PA, Bartoli's Twitter Feed)</span><br />Zafarhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11909444215193865334noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8948801468516043822.post-59095560049373167102013-05-21T21:25:00.001+01:002013-05-23T17:48:16.370+01:00Federer, Nadal XXX and other pre-RG 'State of Play' type stuff<span style="font-size: 85%"><br />1) I don't like the word "favourite", but the fact is Serena goes into RG several leagues above even her two closest 'rivals' - a term that's beginning to make increasingly less sense even notionally.</span><br /><br /><center><a href='https://picasaweb.google.com/zafar.ansari1/TennisIsServed_IPhone02#5881217611815873778'><img src='https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-pP0tJ27Qk_M/UZ5IQgcObPI/AAAAAAAAC3k/QAn2OIcMk3w/s288/1.jpg' border='0' width='290' height='400' style='margin:5px'></a></center><br /><span style="font-size: 85%"> I had a sense both Vika and Masha were making modest advancements in their recent encounters with her (and Vika did, of course, earlier this year, score her second win on the hard courts of Doha), but Madrid and Rome (and it would seem clay in general) clearly show otherwise.<br /><br />Failing an early letdown - she's typically slow off the mark which can prove serious even in cases far less severe than last year's Razzano meltdown - it's difficult, as of now, to see her losing to anyone. <br /><br />Or, to put it another way, a "disrespectful" top 50 upstart (not necessarily even a "sensation") would appear to have a greater chance of springing an upset in week one than either one of Vika and Masha would <i>of maybe even keeping things competitive</i> in week two.<br /><br />2) However much Rafa may be the "favourite" (he'll doubtless suggest otherwise), he remains, unlike Serena, vulnerable to his closest rival on clay.</span><br /><span style="font-size: 85%"><br />Novak's early losses and the confidence Rafa's sure to accrue in a comeback that now includes 6 wins in 8 consecutive finals (has shot him to the top of the Race, and only really "lacks" a win over Novak), may render even that concern into something less worrying. <br /><br />His surreal proficiency on his preferred surface was perhaps more evident in the latter stages of Rome than at any other time during his comeback and particularly in that eye-watering first set he played against Berdych. But the fact remains that Novak is the one player with a M1000 win over him on clay this season and the <i>only</i> player I can see staying with him over five sets.</span><br /><span style="font-size: 85%"><br />3) I don't know what peculiar metaphysical alchemy takes place when Federer plays Nadal but, on clay at least, it now feels like we're well beyond talk of lefty forehands being viciously spun high into single handed backhands, <i>or of analysis itself</i>. <br /><br />There's nothing wrong with this 'post-analysis' analysis. It can be immensely liberating. But it means one has to stop floating 7 year old theories like Federer stubbornly refusing to change the size of his racquet as the meaning of life; or the very unique pressure Rafa puts him under to hit big as the primary cause of more and more rash errors which, though somewhat true, mostly feels like a way to avoid confronting reality.<br /><br /><iframe width="560" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/20WwN7w7_zE" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe><br /><br />The closest Fed ever got to solving this problem was also in Rome 7 years ago in the final, my personal favourite of their many encounters (even Wimbledon 08). You could describe the two match points he blew then (11:50 in the above clip) as "pressure to hit big/end the point" - that certainly wasn't what I saw this weekend.<br /><br />Instead, I saw him adrift, spiritually disconnected from proceedings, in a way which transcends talk of shanks, focus and match-ups. Rafa doesn't just possess obvious tactical advantages over him, <i>he seems to embezzle the core of his very soul on a clay court</i>, leaving him a facsimile of the player he only thinks, rather than <i>believes</i>, he should be.<br /><br />Glass half full: reaches a final and back at #6 in the ATP Race in his second event back. Half empty: not much in the way of serious match practice (Gilles Simon at #17 was his highest ranked opponent prior to the final) and his last pre-RG memory of competition on a clay court will be of another annihilation at the hands of one Rafael Nadal. <br /><br />He's Roger Federer. He'll make the second week - if for no other reason than that the GS format of 5 sets with a day off in between works to his advantage by allowing him to drop a set now and again whilst continuing to play himself into form (Serena has no such luxury). <br /><br />Beyond that, I'm just not buying into the pessimism I'm already seeing because, quite simply, none of the problems described above vs. Rafa apply to Djokovic. If Djokovic, or for that matter <i>anyone</i>, beats him, age will certainly factor into it, but it will essentially be about their having played a better match rather than any specific technical incompatibility or uniquely spiritual angst.<br /><br />There may well be a universe in which Federer defeats Rafa on clay, but it's probably also one in which Ricardo Sanchez runs a Swiss finishing school, and Federer perhaps only possesses a couple of Slams.</span><br /><span style="font-size: 85%"><br />4) Somewhat like Federer, Vika lost early in Madrid following an eight week spell away from the game. And somewhat like Federer she then made the final of Rome. And <i>somewhat</i> like him, she appears to remain further than ever from working out the problem posed by her opponent in that final. <br /><br />Clay clearly isn't her strongest suit, but she hadn't, in all honesty, moved well all week to begin with. Making the final in that suspect form, therefore, has to be construed a positive. And if she can draw on the lessons learnt in her victory over Serena at Doha (many of which are mental and, therefore, surface-independent) we can, at the very least, hope for a more balanced encounter if and when they meet.</span><br /><span style="font-size: 85%"><br />5) I'm sure she's improved but it was difficult to gauge just how much better Masha's performance on clay was this year in relation to this time last year.<br /><br /><center><a href='https://picasaweb.google.com/zafar.ansari1/TennisIsServed_IPhone02#5881217633650757458'><img src='https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-gccpbL-5K8I/UZ5IRxyET1I/AAAAAAAAC3s/D8rgGpuf864/s288/4.jpg' border='0' width='400' height='234' style='margin:5px'></a></center><br />Her not running into Serena last year (except on blue clay) undoubtedly helped her and thereby set in motion a wave of adulatory reporting that quite rightly made a big deal of her reinvention on the surface.<br /><br />Running into Serena at this year's Madrid final refocused things, instead, on the great gulf that exists (for whatever reason) between the two in the starkest possible terms.<br /><br />It's a very different build-up, narratively speaking, to RG and probably derailed any serious appraisal of her game, which may, in some ways, have improved (losing horribly to Serena again doesn't change that).<br /><br />Take out: Remains, as of now, the second best clay courter out there. May have repeated last year's run during the RG build-ups in Serena's absence (and had she not gotten stricken in Rome with no one quite knows what). The same is probably true of RG itself.</span><br /><span style="font-size: 85%"><br />6) I expect some will disagree but I don't find either of Novak's two losses during this clay court spell earth shattering: Berdych crushing the ball that accurately will beat anyone on any day, and a defeat to a rising star like Dimitrov playing the match of his life isn't, if we're honest, something that Fed or Rafa are unfamiliar with (Ernie almost did it again this event) - so it's a mistake in my mind to get too bogged down with questions about form, fitness or the presence of hostile vibrations in the ether. <br /><br />On the other hand, something definitely happened to Novak in the second half of that Berdych match. And I'm guessing a 2011 Novak (the most optimal version for now) would *probably* have found his way past Dimitrov too. That second point alone means that from Novak's perspective at least, he fell short. And it shouldn't surprise us in the least to find him describing himself as "a different player" in the latter half of the Berdych match, or thinking he has work to do in general - even if we believe (as I think most everyone does) that both Grigor and Tomas earnt those wins.<br /><br />7) Difficult to understand where Murray is until we learn more about the injury. As of now, all we know is that it's a problem that's been troubling him for around 18 months, and that it seemed to flair up this time last year too. That suggests a certain seriousness, although remember he won everything he did last year, and also made the finals in Aus plus another title in Miami this year with, presumably, a careful regime of managing that same complaint. <br /><br /><center><a href='https://picasaweb.google.com/zafar.ansari1/TennisIsServed_IPhone02#5881217661179409042'><img src='https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-i7Ji9r4SOaU/UZ5ITYVaMpI/AAAAAAAAC30/GWBnuhvAvz8/s288/3.jpg' border='0' width='400' height='300' style='margin:5px'></a></center><br />It may, of course, be the case that the physical challenges of clay pose a unique risk and, in any case, I prefer to err on the side of caution with complaints like this, but only he and his medical team really know what's going on. I certainly don't believe he should miss RG purely because "that's what Lendl did", even though that would appear to be the sensible choice this year.</span><br />Zafarhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11909444215193865334noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8948801468516043822.post-32552534320680443202013-02-01T17:04:00.001+00:002013-02-01T17:04:15.576+00:00Victoria Azarenka and *that* timeout<span style="font-size: 85%"><br />By now you'll have read the pieces chastising, excoriating or otherwise pouring scorn on Vika and her infamous MTO-that-was-completely-within-the-rules-and-not-without-precedent.</span><br /><br /><center><a href='https://picasaweb.google.com/zafar.ansari1/TennisIsServed_IPhone02#5840031329043362786'><img src='https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-mlVhhKL1wWU/UQv1jUzIM-I/AAAAAAAAC2Q/9amLNmxxZV4/s288/0.jpg' border='0' width='400' height='250' style='margin:5px'></a></center><br /><span style="font-size: 85%">You'll have read all the incensed calls for her disqualification, the cries of 'bushleague' and variously coloured J'accuses of a system that allows for such MTOs.<br /><br />And you'll likely also have read the many pieces at least <i>appearing</i> to cede to the demands of impartiality/balance by highlighting the triumph of her will and nerve in exceptionally difficult circumstances whilst continuing to use the same emotive language about a MTO-that-was-completely-within-the-rules-and-not-without-precedent.<br /><br />You'll probably also have read the pieces that are a little less severe in tone, perhaps even garnering some sympathy for her but nonetheless proclaiming that some kind of tipping point has been reached and that something ought to be done.<br /><br />You may even have read the <a target="_blank" href="http://www.economist.com/blogs/gametheory/2013/01/injury-timeouts-tennis">Economist piece</a> that actually attempted to grapple with the complexities of that "something"- without, to its credit, piling on anyone - though come away feeling that its slightly prosaic, academic handling of the issue hadn't actually solved very much, and, well, what business it was of the Economist anyway.<br /><br />Having had some time to reflect you'd probably have concluded that it wasn't really the Economist's fault. That it was well within the stylistic remit of a column entitled 'Game Theory' to come up with a somewhat dry, detached piece that read more like a business proposal, within which the principal actors are referred to as 'Mr' and 'Ms'. And that the cost/benefit analysis of applying various restrictions to MTOs-that-are-completely-within-the-rules-and-not-without-precedent had essentially proven the point that no one solution would appease or satisfy everyone (or indeed anyone).<br /><br />If you were inclined to be at all fair at this point, you might accept that Vika had bought at least some of this on herself. That by electing to take a MTO-that-was-completely-within-the-rules-and-not-without-precedent at such a conspicuous moment she had after all violated the spirit of the game.<br /><br />You may even have conceded that there was such a prevalence of this sort of thing on tour that whatever she might have said afterwards it was probably fair to assume that she could have lasted another game and was simply looking to break the hoodoo by getting off court.<br /><br />In which case, you'd still be left wondering why her MTO-that-was-completely-within-the-rules-and-not-without-precedent was being subjected to such unique scrutiny.<br /><br />Why neither Novak, Janko, Rafa, Mary Pierce and countless other players, though much vilified for doing much the same, have never had to endure anything quite like Vika's <a target="_blank" href="http://www.australianopen.com/en_AU/news/interviews/2013-01-24/201301241359015588304.html">post match presser</a> in which barely a single question was raised about the particulars of the match and which felt more akin to an interrogation.<br /><br />And whether such a good-cop-bad-cop interrogation was even appropriate for a MTO-that-was-completely-within-the-rules-and-not-without-precedent; or whether it, and not the latter, was in fact 'bushleague'.<br /><br />You would probably also have thought that it was Vika's own clumsy handling of the incident that had, in part, escalated things to this level. That her (right) answers to questions not actually put to her by Sam Smith and the multiple clarifications and damage control she engaged in afterwards had actually made things worse.<br /><br />You might also have felt that, whatever else the case, Vika does need to come to better terms with the press who, much like an MTO-that-is-completely-within-the-rules-and-not-without-precedent, are very much part of the scenery, and though far from perfect, do also offer certain very tangible benefits to someone in her position.<br /><br /><iframe width="560" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/eUbWztL4ozQ" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe><br /><br />Of course, many people didn't think she was being clumsy or inaccurate. They seemed to find it much easier to believe that she was admitting to a) choking (true), b) taking an MTO for choking (not true), and c) cheating or something far worse (both counterproductive and highly unlikely).<br /><br />They didn't seem to think it was at all relevant or important that <a target="_blank" href="http://thedoctorisin.posterous.com/q-a-some-thoughts-on-vika-gate">Sam Smith's questions were both ambiguous and vague</a>, and that English isn't, after all, Vika's mother tongue.<br /><br />Or that she may not have come out expecting to be questioned about a MTO-that-was-completely-within-the-rules-and-not-without-precedent, and as a result answered a question she only <i>assumed</i> she had heard.<br /><br />You might, in any case, have thought it very evident that she plainly <i>wasn't</i> answering the questions Smith had posed, and found it most odd, therefore, that this should be lost on trained professionals that regard English as <i>their</i> mother-tongue; people well-versed in both the art of writing and the conducting of interviews, who might, by virtue of their trade, reasonably be expected to have an above average grasp of comprehension, but who, instead, mistakenly saw this as an unmistakeable confession of cheating.<br /><br />You may even have thought that her answer to the wrong question was less a function of how the question was put - and that were it even to be put with absolute clarity, and were Vika to speak the Queen's English, that this was simply something that players do from time to time. And that if you had cast your mind back just 24 hours prior, to Federer's match against Tsonga, you might remember Roger making much the same mistake: speaking at length to Jim Courier on how he'd performed early on in a set without once referencing the breaker that had <i>preceded</i> it - in response to a question about <i>precisely that breaker and nothing more.</i><br /><br />You may also have thought that it isn't that surprising that a player should make such an error in the immediate aftermath of a match, and how in different circumstances other players might have been given the benefit of the doubt, but that <i>Victoria Azarenka under these circumstances</i> almost certainly wouldn't.<br /><br />Of course if you were more generous you may have actually believed her story about a locked rib and the breathing trouble it was causing her. <br /><br />You might also have wondered just how many people that were panning her had even experienced a panic attack (or even knew what one was), much less tried to play GS tennis through it.<br /><br />You might, in any case, have thought that once the medics who appraised her during the MTO-that-was-completely-within-the-rules-and-not-without-precedent had confirmed her side of the story, and the tournament director had satisfied himself that there really was nothing either peculiar nor remiss about the affair, that that ought to have been the end of it.<br /><br />And that perhaps the fact that that <i>wasn't</i> the end of it had something to do with her a) playing a darling of the American (and much of the international) media, b) being a woman and c) being Victoria Azarenka; that this maybe wouldn't be happening if even <i>one</i> of those were untrue.<br /><br />And that elevating it to the level of a global scandal with a somewhat misogynistic edge to it, in the same week that tennis continues to feel the reverberations of the biggest drugs scandal sport has ever seen, wasn't perhaps the most proportionate or helpful way of dealing with the fallout.<br /><br />You might, in other words, have thought that Victoria Azarenka has a lot to answer for, but that all of <i>that</i> is far worse.<br /><br /><i>(Image: Telegraph)</i><br /></span><br />Zafarhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11909444215193865334noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8948801468516043822.post-33197967225940349402013-01-24T16:43:00.001+00:002013-01-24T16:43:52.450+00:00Murray vs Federer - A plea for sanity.<br /><br /><center><a href='https://picasaweb.google.com/zafar.ansari1/TennisIsServed_IPhone02#5837057359732609890'><img src='https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-PJFzv6jY6DQ/UQFkvhxxE2I/AAAAAAAAC1c/N4JrCbgVRB0/s288/0.jpg' border='0' width='400' height='300' style='margin:5px'></a></center><br /><span style="font-size: 85%"><br />Ever since Murray won his maiden Slam last year there's been an eruption of speculation on what bearing this might have on his chances of success at this year's AO and, indeed, throughout the rest of 2013.<br /><br />This isn't about the shrill, garden-variety hyperbole of the Brit press which might be expected to gather pace after a 76 year male Slam champion drought, nor that very committed periphery of fans that consider Fedal all too "mainstream" and seek to usher in the "edgier" age of 'Novandy' by any means necessary (it's of trifling significance, OF COURSE, that both Federer and Rafa were Slam winners in 2012 too).<br /><br />But even beyond excesses like <a target="_blank" href="http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/tennis/article-2257753/Roger-Federer-Rafael-Nadal-history-Andy-Murray-Novak-Djokovic-over.html">this</a> (seriously, read it), our more acceptable appetite for "change" appears to have led many (I believe) to over-inflate their well-meaning prognosis of Murray's coming year.<br /><br />Such an appetite is, of course, natural; change is exciting, inevitable and often challenges our most sacred tenets - witnessing it can be as hypnotic as it is traumatic. <br /><br />But it should not be sought at any cost (I'd much rather see Vika/Masha step it up vs Serena the way, say, Stosur did in 2011 than see Serena hobble out of the event in the name of "change") and should always be grounded in reality.<br /><br />Murray's success opposite Fed prior to Wimbledon last year was at the Masters (three set) level and born largely of frustrating Fed into errors. Yes, that's a gross oversimplification, but, as with all gross oversimplifications, has its basis in reality.<br /><br />Yet anyone that's followed the evolution of his game - particularly (but not exclusively) after Lendl's involvement - will know that that somewhat threadbare characterisation is in need of revision.<br /><br />He's still not, for my money, getting the free points he should with his 1st serve, but there can be no doubting his improved FH and more frequent attempts at shortening points.<br /><br />The problem is many of those changes are <i>optimisations</i> rather than wholesale revision. Or to put it another way, adjustments bolted on to the edifice of his <i>existing game</i>, rather than some radical, fairy-tale attempt to rebuild his game from the ground up.<br /><br />You could argue in similar terms of Wozniacki. While it's only right to exhort her to play with more aggression, it's rather silly to expect her to reemerge from a period of 'reorientation' as, say, Sabine Lisicki.<br /><br />The facets of the game Murray grew up with, may continue to go through adjustments, but will remain, with very few exceptions, as organic to him as that glaring birthmark of his.<br /><br />And therein lies the rub: for when the pressure is on, players will, almost without fail, default back to their old less-nuanced selves; stripped down of any and all intricacies they will, no doubt, have worked so hard to introduce.<br /><br />It's just easier at that point in the game not to fight physics.<br /><br /><br /><center><a href='https://picasaweb.google.com/zafar.ansari1/TennisIsServed_IPhone02#5837057386061471538'><img src='https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-A8nq-ENb1-A/UQFkxD3DnzI/AAAAAAAAC1k/FKLwwfIePwQ/s288/1.jpg' border='0' width='267' height='400' style='margin:5px'></a></center><br />His previous Slam matches vs Federer have mostly seen the latter come out lightening fast smothering any rhythm Murray might have created right out of the blocks.<br /><br />And TBH, a large part of Fed's focus will be on bringing exactly that about: to whip, carve and maybe even coax Murray into that pliable, more compliant version of opponent against which he's had so many wins at this level and can more comfortably close the remainder of the match out.<br /><br />Of course the great expectation is that Murray's new 'enSlammed' status as well as his win at the OG will bolster him enough for him to see the occasion in an entirely new light: that such regression will either be minimal, or won't take place at all. His performance in the Wimbledon final does actually give us some confidence in that regard (though pretending Fed wasn't exhausted at the OG? Too far)<br /><br />And it's certainly right to say he would/should now be disappointed at repeating the same mistakes against Fed (or anyone) at every Slam going forward (He can hardly be expected to be content with "just" another SF having already made a number of those playing pre-Lendl tennis)<br /><br />But we need to stop pretending that he's turned into Optimus Prime - or even Ernests Gulbis.<br /><br />Or that the nature of his matchup vs Fed has so radically changed as to render Murray the "overwhelming favourite". <br /><br />He's not the overwhelming favourite. He may not even *be* the favourite.<br /><br />It's still, at its core, the same battle of wills between Fed trying to impose himself on the one hand and Murray attempting to seize the initiative earlier on in the rallies - and not regressing into his comfort zone of passive, pre-Lendl tennis.<br /><br />And if Fed's service at this event is anything to go by, <i>that battle will be 50/50 at best.</i><br /><br />If Murray wins, it'll be because he's successfully executed the gameplan that was custom built, and fine tuned to, both the strengths AND the limitations <br />of his, and <i>only</i> his game. <br /><br />Not because he's turned into Robin Soderling.<br /><br />Signed, a Murray fan.<br /><br />(Image: Sky Sports)<br /></span><br />Zafarhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11909444215193865334noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8948801468516043822.post-53107961614676640372013-01-20T22:08:00.001+00:002013-01-20T22:43:41.466+00:00On Taste and Perception<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><iframe width="560" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/GHc_myq3LEs" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe><br /><br /><span style="font-size: 85%"><br />Sorry, no. This isn't the first time we've seen a player overreact and I doubt it'll be the last. <br /><br />Oh sure, it was OTT, unnecessary and, as Sloane would have it, "so disrespectful".<br /><br />But quite a lot of the backlash seemed to be coming from fans rallying to Venus' defence. Which, however well-intentioned, seems, ultimately, to me to be ill-conceived.</span><br /><br /><center><a href='https://picasaweb.google.com/zafar.ansari1/TennisIsServed_IPhone02#5835665759246989474'><img src='https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-KKQV7ZX2z2g/UPxzFt_TuKI/AAAAAAAAC1M/3MADXnLxF1s/s288/0.jpg' border='0' width='400' height='300' style='margin:5px'></a></center><br /><span style="font-size: 85%">Venus' own smirking eyes actually conveyed all necessary levels of disdain and derision in a far more economic yet powerful and exacting way. But not otherwise giving us any reason to think she felt especially slighted.<br /><br />Why would she?<br /><br />Thing is, it's <i>Maria Sharapova</i> - probably a mistake to expect her (or indeed most players) to abide by the specifics of the protocol you've set up to honour *your* fan hierarchy.<br /><br />Some people even suggested the opposite: that it was an illustration of the <i>esteem</i> she holds Venus in. I'm not sure I go that far.<br /><br />But what's far more telling is the inability of most outlets to frame the affair outside of the context of Masha's relationship with the Williamses. - some even going as far as to suggest <a target="_blank" href="http://www.usatoday.com/story/gameon/2013/01/18/maria-sharapova-venus-williams-celebration/1845989/">"Sharapova reacted as if in order to slay Serena, she first had to get Venus"</a>.<br /><br />If you say so.<br /><br />She may simply have been overjoyed at playing her best spell of tennis in ages (more than one commentator has alluded to the parallels with her win here in 2008). And at not serving 20+ DFs per match. Or 70+ UFEs. Just a thought.<br /><br />Perhaps I'd be more convinced if I saw similar levels of outrage at Rafa, Serena, Novak, Ana and countless other players doing much the same - and more. But you don't.<br /><br />As for Novak's shirt ripping after his (actually) epic win over Stan today, well, you either like that sort of thing or you don't. Or, you're largely indifferent to it, but indulge him a little for playing a 5 hour 5 setter. Either way, it comes down to that slippery thing known as taste.<br /><br />I'm not especially fond of it, but again, there's no shortage of counter examples of similarly extravagant exhibitions from others, or, indeed, commendable behaviour from Novak.<br /><br />I guess what i'm saying is, <i>I don't much care</i>; tastes, values and perceptions differ, and jousting about the pseudo-ethics of it all doesn't always feel relevant, helpful or necessary.<br /></span><br />Zafarhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11909444215193865334noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8948801468516043822.post-32676427789627797012012-08-12T18:37:00.001+01:002012-08-12T18:37:13.605+01:00Sometimes "stuff" just happens.<span style="font-size: 85%"><br />I don't think you can deny that there's something up with Novak. He's not been himself since the start of the clay court season.<br /><br /><br /><br /><center><a href='https://picasaweb.google.com/zafar.ansari1/TennisIsServed_IPhone02#5775842065919312466'><img src='https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-Dycc072odqc/UCfpwdnhAlI/AAAAAAAAC0g/UZfAwM24WV4/s288/0.jpg' border='0' width='400' height='291' style='margin:5px'></a></center><br />What began as a "one off" in MC (put down rightly to the passing of a beloved grandfather) continued largely unquestioned into Madrid (where he was at war with the surface) before morphing into something altogether more gruesome in the final of Rome (where one of his smashes was so poor it almost landed on his foot) - what I think of as his single worst performance this year.<br /><br />And to be honest, he's been off ever since.<br /><br />Nothing so obviously hellish as Rome - more a certain listlessness and inability to summon his best during moments of crisis, all of which stands in stark contrast to his stretch of 'form' (not even sure that's the right word for it any more) last year.<br /><br />If we are to believe the <a target="_blank" href="http://www.tennistalk.com/en/news/20120809/Djokovic_won't_comment_on_report_of_problems">words</a> of his former coach Jelena Gencic, "personal problems" lie at the root of it. <br /><br />That may well be. But as Novak indicated, "everyone" battles with those from time to time. And I will never not flinch and cringe (fringe?) at the instinctual drive of some to explain away a spell of poor play or even a single upset whenever a top player is involved. Upsets happen, "stuff" happens, giving birth to aliens happens - even to the best of the best - <i>can we not let that just be?</i><br /><br />It's entirely reasonable and healthy to want to put forward reasons of course. <b>Provided we accept that what we're proposing as a root cause is an approximation of an approximation based on little or no knowledge of something that may not even be <i>slightly</i> true - wholesale conjecture in other words.</b><br /><br />I'm a big fan of conjecture - until, that is, we dress it up and start pretending it's something more than that.<br /><br />This isn't Novak's doing (although you could argue his former coach has invited much of the speculation). And whilst his fans obviously contribute to it, it's bigger and very different in nature to fandom - in fact, no single party is to blame.<br /><br /><center><a href='https://picasaweb.google.com/zafar.ansari1/TennisIsServed_IPhone02#5775842085861756258'><img src='https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-9Ebe5Pe50vg/UCfpxn6KjWI/AAAAAAAAC0o/IWSfKVJIe0E/s288/1.jpg' border='0' width='299' height='450' style='margin:5px'></a></center><br />It's a conglomerate comprised of media, fans, bloggers, the bloke at the bus stand, and other talking heads - and its relentless drive to rationalise and categorise everything from the sublime to the trivial into neatly labelled unthreatening manilla folders is almost pathological (I know this, because I'm part of it too).<br /><br />I think the idea of stuff "just happening" unfettered, uncontrolled and untamed by narrative (or even basic laws of cause+effect) simply terrifies them.<br /><br />But that's <i>exactly</i> the reason why most of us (including myself) love sport. <br /><br />Sport knows nothing of fandom or ideology. It simply plays out on a level playing field unencumbered by agenda. Sometimes it's even chaotic. And therein lies its power to enthrall. Imposing a narrative on that actually feels like an insult. Sport's simply too big for that, and Novak's too good for it.<br /><br />I daresay something personal *is* troubling him. I've got no reason to doubt it - Gencic isn't his mouthpiece but does seem<br />to know the family well enough (and Novak certainly hasn't denied it).<br /><br />But it could equally be the natural decompression that follows 18 months of near-perpetual ecstasy (and an acute awareness of just how difficult that might be to replicate).<br /><br />Or even a combination of both - they're not mutually exclusive you know. <br /><br />I could, of course, be completely wrong. But, as of now, <i>we simply don't know.</i> And unless Novak himself says any different, I prefer to leave it that way.<br /><br />Isn't that, after all, why they call such things "personal"?<br /><br /><i>(Photos: Getty)</i><br /><br /></span><br /><br />Zafarhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11909444215193865334noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8948801468516043822.post-3825330513395433122012-08-06T13:30:00.001+01:002012-08-06T21:06:07.802+01:00GOLD MEDAL THAT IS GOLDEN AND MADE OF GOLD THAT IS NOT SILVER<br /><br /><center><a href='https://picasaweb.google.com/zafar.ansari1/TennisIsServed_IPhone02#5773653941361957298'><img src='https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-vtu-YUcUods/UCAjq2bp2bI/AAAAAAAAC0Q/X7ZDHkqvf9c/s288/0.jpg' border='0' width='338' height='461' style='margin:5px'></a></center><br /><span style="font-size: 85%"><br />ECSTATIC.<br /><br />But I still think there's an entirely healthy middle ground between (1) the idea that Murray's Olympic win means he's now certain to beat Fedalovic in a 5 set Slam final, and (2) that it has no bearing on <i>anything at all</i> because it's "not the same thing" (equally childish).<br /><br />Too early to be thinking that way, right? I should still be partaying in the Stella-McCartnicated afterglow of the biggest win of his career, I know.<br /><br />Fine. But if he goes down in a tight (or not so tight) 5 set final (or even semi final) to, say, Rafael Nadal at the USO, the same tabloid contingent retweeting pictures of his <a target="_blank" href="https://twitter.com/lynnlovestennis/status/232478758848831490/photo/1/large">head on a stamp</a> now, will begin (again) to raise the most horrible doubts about his ability to bring his best against the best.<br /><br />It wouldn't be the first time.<br /><br />What this "means" (a LOT - some would say its uniqueness precludes it from even Slam comparisons) should not be confused with the *expectation* it sets - they're two entirely different (albeit hopelessly tangled) issues.<br /><br /><i>(Photo: AP)</i><br /></span><br />Zafarhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11909444215193865334noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8948801468516043822.post-51536905781106735482012-02-24T11:04:00.001+00:002012-08-06T15:38:28.474+01:00Aga Saga.<span style="font-size: 85%"> <p> <br />
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Alas, Aga. So close. <br />
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<img style="background-image: none; border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; margin: 5px auto; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: block; float: none; border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px" title="photo (2)" border="0" alt="photo (2)" src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/-A3LOh3fIKDE/T0gbXHJPJEI/AAAAAAAACzQ/FKiPmgy_Fho/photo%252520%2525282%252529%25255B5%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="456" height="290" /> <br />
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It may surprise you to know that I was initially <a href="http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/sports/tennis/top-stories/Agnieszka-Radwanska-angry-with-Victoria-Azarenka/articleshow/12007340.cms">with her on this</a>. <br />
<br />
Much as I like Vika, and much as I do believe she was injured, perhaps she did carry on a little too much in between points in a way which a no-nonsense nature like Aga's just can't tolerate. <br />
<br />
As we've seen with Nole, if a player is grimacing/writhing around in agony, but making athletic winners of the highest order only moments later, people (and it seems players) will talk – <em>silly to expect otherwise</em>. And Aga seemed to me to be well within her rights to convey her distaste, which she did eminently well with that hydrochloric handshake –  designed as it was for maximal-effect. <br />
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That ought to have been the end of the matter. <br />
<br />
Putting out your (unsolicited) personal opinion re your (former) bestie and new tennis Queen Bee a whole week after the incident suggests to me that something else is at work and that perhaps that "something" has been brewing for some time. <br />
<br />
Jealousy? Nah. There's a healthy rivalry there but nothing so malicious. <br />
<br />
My own view (for what it's worth) is that this is simply new territory for Aga. Her recent success and career-high #6 ranking seem to have galvanised her into feeling she now has a certain licence to shoot off in this way. <br />
<br />
Nothing especially wrong with that but it doesn't mean she'll always best know how (or when) to shoot nor, indeed (as in this case), when she's <i>overshot</i>. <br />
<br />
Besides, as many have already noted, you have only yourself to blame if you were unable to put away an "injured" opponent (though one wonders what exactly they expect 'weaponless' Aga to put <i>anyone</i> away with). <br />
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Vika's cryptic (or not so cryptic) reaction: <br />
<br />
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</p> <blockquote class="twitter-tweet"> <p>just laughing out loud….thats it what i can say….its getting more and more funny…have a good week and enjoy girls</p> — victoria azarenka (@vika7) <a href="https://twitter.com/vika7/status/172770453058891777" data-datetime="2012-02-23T19:51:00+00:00">February 23, 2012</a></blockquote> <script src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script> <br />
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</span> Zafarhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11909444215193865334noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8948801468516043822.post-78268661553032016202012-02-19T18:53:00.001+00:002012-02-24T12:05:51.381+00:00Not to rain on anyone’s parade but….<span style="font-size: 85%"> <p> <br />
<br />
<img style="background-image: none; border-right-width: 0px; margin: 5px auto; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: block; float: none; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; padding-top: 0px" title="ap-201202191120408249211" border="0" alt="ap-201202191120408249211" src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-ywZaD1ncLmU/T0FFND_0rNI/AAAAAAAACzA/YcBCHw6LDa4/ap-201202191120408249211%25255B4%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="338" height="477" /> <br />
<br />
Much as I like her, and much as I’ve waited for this moment, Vika is not <em>“this years Nole”</em>, nor is it very meaningful to make pronouncements on how well she’s coping with being top dog until she repeats the show she put on in Doha at a venue like  IW or Miami – or better still, RG. <br />
<br />
Not that I think she’s not capable of doing <em>precisely that</em>, nor has this week been anything other than majorly convincing. <br />
<br />
It’s just that the more she’s bigged up now, the greater she’ll be made to pay for it when she next takes a fall – often exclusively by the people responsible for the bigging up. It would please me greatly if that didn’t happen at a high-visibility venue like Miami, which is why I’d be happy for her to have taken a fall either here or at Dubai next week. <br />
<br />
<strong>We might also remember that Halep/Aga/Sam ≠ Serena/Petra</strong></p> <p> </p> <p>Sam? I dunno what to say to you. <br />
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(pic: getty)</p> </span> Zafarhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11909444215193865334noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8948801468516043822.post-48708059914229114662012-01-30T00:48:00.001+00:002012-01-30T00:56:42.421+00:00Oz: ‘I’d be Lying’<span style="font-size: 85%"> <p> <br /> <br /><img style="background-image: none; border-right-width: 0px; margin: 5px auto; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: block; float: none; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; padding-top: 0px" title="35949bccb1dfc723f4c1aeffec3f651e-getty-508516951" border="0" alt="35949bccb1dfc723f4c1aeffec3f651e-getty-508516951" src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/-wQhLxYDBjW4/TyXo5QyxcJI/AAAAAAAACyg/V_NJi56lzQ8/35949bccb1dfc723f4c1aeffec3f651e-get%25255B1%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="357" height="443" />  <br /><font color="#000000"><em>Djokovic d. Nadal 57 64 62 67 75</em></font> <br /> <br /></p> <p>I want to say that this was the best match ever. But I’d be lying. <br /> <br />I want to say duration <em>always</em> maps to quality. But I’d be lying. <br /> <br />I want to say Rafa didn't have his chances and that Nole was simply too good. But I'd be lying. <br /> <br />I want to say that Nole is Rafa’s “kryptonite” against which Rafa supposedly has "no weapons". But I’d be lying. <br /> <br /> <br /><img style="background-image: none; border-right-width: 0px; margin: 5px auto; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: block; float: none; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; padding-top: 0px" title="ap-201201291107400224435" border="0" alt="ap-201201291107400224435" src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-zJBSKAA_buo/TyXo5xNmswI/AAAAAAAACyk/EHon5_KpYZI/ap-2012012911074002244355.jpg?imgmax=800" width="354" height="463" /> <br />I want to say Rafa played this with the same brand of daring intensity that he exhibited against Federer. But I'd be lying. <br /> <br />I want to say that Federer won't be smarting over this, and that he shouldn't feel short changed at not getting a crack at Nole. But I'd be lying. <br /> <br />I want to say that I'm completely convinced it wouldn’t have been <em>any</em> different had it been Federer, and not Rafa, at the other end. But I'd be lying. <br /> <br />I want to say that Rafa's soul won't be crushed by the worst loss of his career and that he'll snap out of it in little over a week. But I'd be lying. <br /> <br /> <br /><img style="background-image: none; border-right-width: 0px; margin: 5px auto; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: block; float: none; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; padding-top: 0px" title="dae3eac8b4ac091fec55b18701693b5f-getty-508515468" border="0" alt="dae3eac8b4ac091fec55b18701693b5f-getty-508515468" src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/-qmTlCF_csEg/TyXo6gZAnkI/AAAAAAAACyw/TvgLKl6l98M/dae3eac8b4ac091fec55b18701693b5f-get%25255B1%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="415" height="304" /> <br /> <br />That said... <br /> <br />I <em>could</em> say that the longest match in GS history was purely about the inability/unwillingness to finish off a point. And nothing to do with guts, endurance or heroism. But, here too,  I would be lying. <br /> <br />I could say that Nole <em>doesn't</em> deserve credit for taking his chances the way Rafa seemed unable/unwilling to under that kind of relentless and unforgiving pressure. But I would be lying (it's why he, and not Rafa, is world #1). <br /> <br />I could say that Nole doesn't deserve all manner of accolades for learning how to manage and regulate his energy levels to see this thing through. But I would  be lying. <br /> <br />I could say that I don't want to tar and feather those tacky enough to be talking of "faking" at a time like this. But I would be lying. <em>You </em>clearly don't understand sport; and sport wants nothing whatsoever to do with <em>you. <br /> <br /> <br /><img style="background-image: none; border-right-width: 0px; margin: 5px auto; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: block; float: none; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; padding-top: 0px" title="9485d0f11b8932656b359097eaca0120-getty-508515713" border="0" alt="9485d0f11b8932656b359097eaca0120-getty-508515713" src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-9JrMg8fPfTo/TyXo7h2ucgI/AAAAAAAACy4/KyL8jCf6V4k/9485d0f11b8932656b359097eaca0120-get.jpg?imgmax=800" width="464" height="353" /></em> <br /> <br />I could say that the heroic battle of will that ensued in the  final set <em>didn't</em> transcend any pedantic concerns I might have had about “quality” and letting things get this far. But I would be lying. <br /> <br />I could say that Murray <em>hasn't</em> come a long way and that it's a crying shame that Lendl hasn't managed to do more with him in just one week. But I would  be lying. <br /> <br />I could say that Nole only has the most <em>fleeting</em> of chances at completing the Calendar Grand Slam by beating Rafa at RG. But I would be lying. <br /> <br />I could say that this wasn't #goodfortennis, that a marathon like this <em>didn't</em> hold appeal for both fans <em>and </em>non-tennisheads; that tennis, ultimately, didn't win today. <br /> <br />But, there too, I would be lying. <br /> <br />(Pics: Getty)</p> </span> Zafarhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11909444215193865334noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8948801468516043822.post-20110191528553671992012-01-30T00:45:00.001+00:002012-01-30T00:46:28.113+00:00Oz: Slamless #1’s are so 2011…<span style="font-size: 85%"> <p> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /><img style="background-image: none; border-right-width: 0px; margin: 5px auto; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: block; float: none; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; padding-top: 0px" title="610x (6)" border="0" alt="610x (6)" src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-_HkIXvstYiI/TyXoAuzT6GI/AAAAAAAACx4/GZPO4EEOzVw/610x%252520%2525286%252529%25255B4%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="468" height="319" /> <br /><em><font color="#000000">Azarenka d. Sharapova 63 60</font></em> <br /> <br />Whatever tangential, <em>slamless</em> universe opened up in the immediate aftermath of Henin’s first retirement (and locked  out quite admirably for a year by Serena) is no more. <br /> <br />1) Four first time GS winners. Based on this, you either believe the WTA is flat-lining, or you welcome in the new faces and perhaps even hope to usher in a new age. I choose the latter. <br /> <br />2) Juju gone. Kim gone by end of year. Difficult (sadly) to know how much more we can expect from Venus. And Serena <em>will</em> face the occasional upset (last 2 slams attest to this). Perhaps the guards have been altered. But if Serena <em>soundly spanks</em> everyone at Wimbledon we'll be forced to change at least <em>one</em> of them right back again. <br /> <br /><img style="background-image: none; border-right-width: 0px; margin: 5px auto; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: block; float: none; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; padding-top: 0px" title="610x (5)" border="0" alt="610x (5)" src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/-F_eYqzMTIwU/TyXoBXeSW6I/AAAAAAAACx8/NGZjpGt0tbI/610x%252520%2525285%252529%25255B4%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="446" height="328" /> <br /> <br />3) I make no secret of my affection for Vika. She's roguish, she's impudent and sometimes downright garish. And, yes, some of that still needs looking at. <br /> <br />4) She’s also <em>uncompromisingly real</em> – the uncontrived cowboy of the WTA, who gives 110% every time. It’s plainly disingenuous to harp on about the former without once mentioning the latter. <br /> <br />5) Besides, if she was really as bad as all that, she’d have reacted quite abominably to the spate of bad luck she's had over the years. <br /> <br /><a href="http://lh4.ggpht.com/-n_OgulqwCO4/TyXoCHv2AcI/AAAAAAAACyE/EsQf28nmc8I/s1600-h/x610%252520%2525283%252529%25255B4%25255D.jpg"><img style="background-image: none; border-right-width: 0px; margin: 5px auto; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: block; float: none; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; padding-top: 0px" title="x610 (3)" border="0" alt="x610 (3)" src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/-tgOS--NW_PE/TyXoC0hovyI/AAAAAAAACyM/wAdg4xOaU3I/x610%252520%2525283%252529_thumb%25255B2%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="375" height="493" /></a> <br /> <br />6) Heat troubles, injuries, quite <em>atrocious</em> draws (ending mostly with Serena Williams)....it's been quite a journey. A lesser spirit would have faded into obsolescence quite timidly. <br /> <br />7) Instead, she works hard at her fitness and game, and wins her first GS playing something at her best (and with uncharacteristic variety) at a venue which, given her susceptibilities, may as well have been the <em>surface of the sun</em>.   <br /> <br />8) A triumph that included a win over Kim. A triumph that bagged her the #1 ranking. <em>Yes, I checked and rechecked....and every box has been ticked. <br /> <br /> <br /><img style="background-image: none; border-right-width: 0px; margin: 5px auto; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: block; float: none; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; padding-top: 0px" title="610x (7)" border="0" alt="610x (7)" src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/-E82pccoZwA4/TyXoDmftVeI/AAAAAAAACyU/HZZFscwyVHI/610x%252520%2525287%252529%25255B4%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="465" height="357" /></em> <br /> <br />9) Pova clearly has her troubles, but if anyone claims she's not a genuine GS contender after her second final in just <em>seven months</em>, they're lying. <br /> <br />10) The way she held up against Petra in particular (who was ferociously/religiously teeing off on every second, and even some of her first serves) in that final set was <em>truly inspired</em> – my nominee for women's match of the event. <br /> <br />11) Spare a thought for Woz. On second thoughts <em>don't </em>– she's savvy enough and thick skinned enough to know where she's falling short and that a #4 ranking is about right. <br /> <br />12) For what it's worth I still think Petra is the best player on the planet right now.</p> <br />(Pics: Getty) </span> Zafarhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11909444215193865334noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8948801468516043822.post-32282360824516450342012-01-25T21:24:00.000+00:002012-01-28T20:18:12.772+00:00Oz: The Non-Bracketology Post.<span style="font-size: 85%"> <br /> <br /> <br /><iframe style="width: 494px; height: 344px" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/a1Y73sPHKxw" frameborder="0" width="420" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe> <br /> <br />It’s happened. <br /> <br />Nole has been drawn against Murray. Fed will play Rafa in the semis of a Slam for the first time since RG 2005. <br /> <br /> <br /> <table style="color: rgb(128,112,96)" border="1" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="2" width="531"><tbody> <tr> <td valign="top" width="126"> <p><span style="color: rgb(0,0,0)">Q1</span></p> </td> <td valign="top" width="120"> <p><span style="color: rgb(0,0,0)">Q2</span></p> </td> <td valign="top" width="123"> <p><span style="color: rgb(0,0,0)">Q3</span></p> </td> <td valign="top" width="160"> <p><span style="color: rgb(0,0,0)">Q4</span></p> </td> </tr> <tr> <td valign="top" width="126"><em><font style="background-color: #ffff00" color="#000000"></font></em><em><font style="background-color: #ffff00"><font color="#000000"></font></font></em><font style="background-color: #ffff00"><font size="2"><em><strong><font color="#000000"></font></strong></em></font></font><em><strong><font color="#000000" size="3">Nole</font></strong></em></td> <td valign="top" width="120"><em><font style="background-color: #ffff00"><font color="#000000"><strong></strong></font></font></em><em><font color="#000000"><strong><font style="background-color: #ffff00"></font></strong></font></em><font size="2"><em><font style="background-color: #ffff00" color="#000000"><strong></strong></font></em></font><strike><font style="style"><em><font style="style" color="#000000" size="3"><strong>Murray</strong></font></em></font><em><font style="background-color: #ffff00" color="#000000"><strong></strong></font></em></strike></td> <td valign="top" width="123"><em><em><em><em><font size="2"><font style="background-color: #ffff00" color="#800000"></font></font></em></em></em></em><strike><em><em><em><em><font style="style" size="2"><font style="style" color="#800000">Delpo</font></font></em></em></em></em><em><em><em><em><font size="2"><font style="background-color: #ffff00" color="#800000"></font></font></em></em></em></em></strike></td> <td valign="top" width="160"><em><font style="background-color: #ffff00"><font color="#800000"></font></font></em><font size="2"><em><font color="#800000"><strike>Berd</strike></font></em></font></td> </tr> <tr> <td valign="top" width="126"><font size="2"><em><font color="#800000"><strike>Ferrer</strike></font></em></font></td> <td valign="top" width="120"><em><font size="2"><font style="background-color: #ffff00"></font></font></em><em><font size="2"><font style="background-color: #ffff00"></font></font></em><strike><em><font style="style" size="2"><font style="style">Kei</font></font></em><em><font size="2"><font style="background-color: #ffff00"></font></font></em></strike></td> <td valign="top" width="123"><font size="2"><em><font style="background-color: #ffff00"><strong><font color="#000000"></font></strong></font></em></font><font size="2"><em><strong><font style="background-color: #ffff00" color="#000000"></font></strong></em></font><strike><font style="style"><em><strong><font style="style" color="#000000" size="3">Federer</font></strong></em></font><em><strong><font style="background-color: #ffff00" color="#000000"></font></strong></em><em><strong><font color="#000000"></font></strong></em></strike></td> <td valign="top" width="160"><em><strong><font color="#000000" size="3">Rafa</font></strong></em></td> </tr> </tbody></table> <table style="color: rgb(128,112,96)" border="1" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="2" width="514"><tbody> <tr> <td valign="top" width="130"> <p><span style="color: rgb(0,0,0)">Q1</span></p> </td> <td valign="top" width="116"> <p><span style="color: rgb(0,0,0)">Q2</span></p> </td> <td valign="top" width="137"> <p><span style="color: rgb(0,0,0)">Q3</span></p> </td> <td valign="top" width="129"> <p><span style="color: rgb(0,0,0)">Q4</span></p> </td> </tr> <tr> <td valign="top" width="130"><font size="2"><font style="background-color: #ffff00"><em><font color="#000000"><strong></strong></font></em></font></font><font size="2"><em><font style="background-color: #8064a2" color="#000000"><strong></strong></font></em></font><strike><font style="style" size="2"><em><font style="style" color="#000000"><strong>Woz</strong></font></em></font><font size="2"><em><font style="background-color: #8064a2" color="#000000"><strong></strong></font></em></font><font size="2"><em><font color="#000000"><strong></strong></font></em></font></strike></td> <td valign="top" width="116"><em><font style="background-color: #ffff00"><strong><font color="#000000"></font></strong></font></em><em><strong><font color="#000000" size="4">Vika</font></strong></em></td> <td bgcolor="#ffc68c" valign="top" width="137"><em><font style="background-color: #ffff00"></font></em><font size="2"><em><strike>Maka</strike></em></font></td> <td valign="top" width="129"><font size="2"><em><strike>Errani</strike></em></font></td> </tr> <tr> <td valign="top" width="130"><em><font style="background-color: #ffff00"><font color="#800000"></font></font></em><em><font style="background-color: #ffff00"><font size="2"><font color="#800000"></font></font></font></em><em><font size="2"><font style="background-color: #ffff00" color="#800000"></font></font></em><strike><em><font style="style"><font style="style" color="#800000" size="3">Kim</font></font></em><em><font style="background-color: #ffff00" color="#800000"></font></em><em><font style="background-color: #ffff00"><font color="#800000"></font></font></em></strike></td> <td valign="top" width="116"><strike><em><em><font size="2"><font color="#800000">Aga</font></font></em></em><em><em><font style="background-color: #ffff00"><font color="#800000"></font></font></em></em></strike></td> <td bgcolor="#ffc68c" valign="top" width="137"><font style="background-color: #ffff00"><font size="2"><em><strong><font color="#000000"></font></strong></em></font></font><strike><em><strong><font color="#000000" size="3">Pova</font></strong></em><font style="background-color: #ffff00"><em><strong><font color="#000000"></font></strong></em></font></strike></td> <td valign="top" width="129"><font size="2"><font style="background-color: #ffff00"><em><strong><font color="#000000"></font></strong></em></font></font><strike><em><strong><font color="#000000" size="3">Petra</font></strong></em><font style="background-color: #ffff00"><em><strong><font color="#000000"></font></strong></em></font></strike></td> </tr> </tbody></table> <p> </p> <p><strong><font color="#000000">Legend</font></strong></p> <p><font color="#000000">Hoity-Toity</font></p> <p><font color="#800000">Upwardly-Mobile</font></p> <p><font color="#008000">Sympathy Vote</font></p> <p><font color="#000080">Ideas above their station</font></p> <p><font style="background-color: #ffc68c">Stacked</font> <br /> <br /> <br />Let me guess, the counter-conspiracy theory goes something like this: Oz are merely performing an elaborate tap-dance, so we might lower our guard to all that nasty draw-rigging that regularly goes on at every Slam. There’s even Maths involved. <br /> <br />Whatever. But this is weird – Vika comes into this 1) uninjured and otherwise healthy, 2) having won an event just this weekend 3)  drawn as far from Serena as is geometrically and humanely possible. <br /> <br />Anyone that’s followed Vika’s GS career knows that this is akin to jellyfish  discovering a colony of unicorns on Mars. <em>Knowing her luck it’s probably best to wait and see exactly how it plays out. <br /> <br /><img style="background-image: none; border-right-width: 0px; margin: 5px auto; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: block; float: none; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; padding-top: 0px" title="610x (2)" border="0" alt="610x (2)" src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/-MXLyahOi-Pg/TxHMyB1XQNI/AAAAAAAACto/Ht0EJ_Dr_0M/610x%252520%2525282%252529%25255B4%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="487" height="344" /> <br /> <br /></em><strong>Other bits and bobs:  <br /> <br /></strong>1) Murray goes through Ryan,Ernie, Gael and Tsonga before even getting a crack at Nole. In as much as there is a short straw, I’d say he drew it. <br /> <br />2)  Tomic/Fer (R1)..…just, AHAHAHAHA.  <br /> <br />3)  Pova/Dulko (R1)….NOT FUNNY….NOT COOL </p> <p> <br />4)  Maria goes through Dulko, Sveta/Sabine and Serena before even getting a crack at Petra….so short it barely qualifies as a straw.  <br /> <br />5)  The Chak is back!  <br /> <br />6)  Other than a R16 encounter with Milos (which sounds completely groovy), can’t imagine Nole will have much trouble making the semis.  <br /> <br />7)  I’d like Fed/Delpo to be the QF blockbuster some are hoping for….Delpo just doesn’t seem quite there yet.  <br /> <br />8) Not to be unkind, but Rafa’s section is full of has-beens. There’s a small chance the likes of Nalbie nabs a set off him but that’s it.  <br /> <br />9) Would be nice to see Grigor make <em>something</em> of his life…at some point. Especially after interviews like <a href="http://www.thetennisspace.com/on-court/grigor-dimitrov-burned-out-by-federer-comparisons/">this</a>.  <br /> <br />10) LRob has just qualified to play JJ in R1. She almost squeezed a set from Maria last year. I’m not predicting an upset, but it should be colourful. More than anything involving JJ usually is.   <br /> <br />11)  Kim/Li R16….When was the last time two <em>current Grand Slam Champions</em> played each other this early????  <br /> <br />12) Difficult to know what to expect from Woz right now –  I can see her getting through her early rounds, although I can also see Lucie upsetting her…maybe even in straights. Hope she survives – kinda want to see her go through Kim. It will be a big big Mountain Gorilla off her back.  <br /> <br />13)  Marion aside, Petra’s draw is kinda cake-walky (sorry Sam). As is always the case with Petra, this has absolutely no bearing on her chances of winning or losing ANYTHING. <br /> <br /><img style="background-image: none; border-right-width: 0px; margin: 5px auto; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: block; float: none; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; padding-top: 0px" title="f_rla_18_02" border="0" alt="f_rla_18_02" src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/-7Tuwwzd_qjA/TxHH7hCtLHI/AAAAAAAACtg/hPB8gfDCLx8/f_rla_18_02%25255B5%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="501" height="351" /> <br /> <br /><strong>Potential Early Round Mashups:</strong> <br /> <br /><em><strong>MURRAY/RYAN (R1),</strong> Troicki/Gael (R3),  Dolgo/Tomic (R3), Grigor/Baggy (R3), Rafa/Young (R3)</em> <br /> <br /><em>Lucie/JJ (R3), Kim/Dani (R3), Vika/Watson (R1), Flavia/Peng (R3), Fran/Julia (R3), Bepa/Kanepi (R3), Domi/Serena (R3), Sabine/Sveta (R3), <strong>POVA/DULKO (R1),</strong> Sam/Nadia (R3), Marion/Zheng (R3), Pavs/Ana (R3), Kiri/Petra (R3) <br /> <br /></em>Maybe it’s just me, but are WTA third rounds usually <em>this stacked? <br /></em> <br /> <br /><strong>R4 meet’n not-greets:</strong> <br /> <br /><em>(ATP) Nole/Milos, Janko/Ferrer, Murray/Gael, Fed/Dolgo, Rafa/Nalb <br />(WTA) Woz/JJ, <strong>KIM/LI</strong>, Vika/Peng, Fran/Aga, Bepa/Serena, Pova/Sveta, Sam/Marion</em> <br /> <br /><strong>QF drive-bys: <br /></strong> <br /><em>(ATP): Nole/Ferrer, Murray/Tsonga, Delpo/Fed, Berd/Rafa <br />(WTA): Woz/Kim, Vika/Fran, Serena/Pova. Marion/Petra</em> <br /> <br /><strong>Oh yeah. And that small matter of Petra/Serena facing off in the semis.</strong> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /></p> </span> Zafarhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11909444215193865334noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8948801468516043822.post-21140253553728443692012-01-23T18:00:00.001+00:002012-01-23T20:35:38.452+00:00Oz: Magnificent.<span style="font-size: 85%"> <p> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /><img style="background-image: none; border-right-width: 0px; margin: 5px auto; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: block; float: none; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; padding-top: 0px" title="b317291865c54aaa969ffa589cccb82a-getty-508383504" border="0" alt="b317291865c54aaa969ffa589cccb82a-getty-508383504" src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-QgtwhEa8w0w/Tx2gQfkAV1I/AAAAAAAACxY/w09lCxh5Kss/b317291865c54aaa969ffa589cccb82a-getty-508383504%25255B4%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="479" height="368" /> <br /><em><font color="#000000">Djokovic d. Hewitt 61 63 46 63</font></em> <br /> <br />There’s those who <em>“leave it all out there on court”.</em> There’s those that <em>“don’t know when to stop”</em>. There’s the sensationalist  lunacy that lies beyond that. And then (and only then) there’s Lleyton Hewitt. <br /> <br />Bernard, Donald and Ryan better have been bloody watching. <br /> <br /> <br /><img style="background-image: none; border-right-width: 0px; margin: 5px auto; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: block; float: none; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; padding-top: 0px" title="4a47c1c9dc338dd61bbde14a1d14dd74-getty-508383522" border="0" alt="4a47c1c9dc338dd61bbde14a1d14dd74-getty-508383522" src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-jTSpxA4QxHw/Tx2gRKWFOpI/AAAAAAAACxg/McWjk8PiFfE/4a47c1c9dc338dd61bbde14a1d14dd74-getty-508383522%25255B4%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="431" height="319" /> <br />Even the seagulls got involved. <br /> <br /><img style="background-image: none; border-right-width: 0px; margin: 5px auto; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: block; float: none; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; padding-top: 0px" title="03a8b17f64af46a6a7553ff70e46cd7b-getty-508383332" border="0" alt="03a8b17f64af46a6a7553ff70e46cd7b-getty-508383332" src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/-QTzWvFI7k8M/Tx2gR0HLhII/AAAAAAAACxo/LmJ5xs7CY7M/03a8b17f64af46a6a7553ff70e46cd7b-getty-508383332%25255B4%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="357" height="459" /></p> <p> <br />Goodnight you irrepressible, foolhardy and quite ridiculous Creature of the Night. <br /> <br /> <br /><img style="background-image: none; border-right-width: 0px; margin: 5px auto; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: block; float: none; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; padding-top: 0px" title="cbee89746204f8cc160177ad41b3ba74-getty-508383422" border="0" alt="cbee89746204f8cc160177ad41b3ba74-getty-508383422" src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-ZRHvlZylSEc/Tx2gSR2nThI/AAAAAAAACxs/carWIxYNH7Q/cbee89746204f8cc160177ad41b3ba74-getty-508383422%25255B4%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="336" height="539" /> <br /> <br />It's ok. You can admit to welling up a little. Or more than a little. <br /> <br />I know I did. <br /> <br />(Pics: Getty)</p> </span> Zafarhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11909444215193865334noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8948801468516043822.post-12272192073960141822012-01-23T17:45:00.001+00:002012-01-23T17:47:42.841+00:00Oz: Define “upset”<span style="font-size: 85%"> <p> <br /> <br /> <br />Kanepi,Bepa,….<em>Serena Williams? </em> <br /> <br /> <br /><img style="background-image: none; border-right-width: 0px; margin: 5px auto; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: block; float: none; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; padding-top: 0px" title="7adb119bb12e218067c6cafe896bb712-getty-508377651" border="0" alt="7adb119bb12e218067c6cafe896bb712-getty-508377651" src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/-cx6iV3eyGNU/Tx2cwnWQCXI/AAAAAAAACxQ/EFoJvzVCyzI/7adb119bb12e218067c6cafe896bb712-getty-508377651%25255B4%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="451" height="339" /> <br /><em><font color="#000000">Makarova d. Williams 62 63</font></em> <br /> <br /></p> <p>Not the first time Maka's <a href="http://tennisisserved.blogspot.com/2010/06/eleventh-hour-wins.html">sprung this shit.</a> Oh sorry, "upset". Won’t be the last either. <br /> <br />Don't mean to suggest Serena wasn't <em>laughably </em>below par (she was) and I won't pretend Maka can hang with either her <em>or</em> the likes of Kim; but if there's a vulnerability to be exploited (as there was today), an upset to be sprung, forged or otherwise effected, Maka will be on it. <br /> <br />She seems to have an incredible knack for that sort of thing. <em>Many don't.</em> Just saying. <br /> <br /> <br />(Pics: Getty)</p> </span> Zafarhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11909444215193865334noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8948801468516043822.post-14131380071507928812012-01-22T14:17:00.001+00:002012-01-22T14:35:45.038+00:00Oz: Ode to Lleyton….a night to rememborize.<span style="font-size: 85%"> <p> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /><img style="background-image: none; border-right-width: 0px; margin: 5px auto; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: block; float: none; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; padding-top: 0px" title="8b6a481444119aee967fab668df01407-getty-508332823" border="0" alt="8b6a481444119aee967fab668df01407-getty-508332823" src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-4bHJd4y2O10/TxwaC-rOr2I/AAAAAAAACvI/0YzGiA6FbQ0/8b6a481444119aee967fab668df01407-get%25255B1%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="454" height="330" />  <br /><font color="#000000"><em>Hewitt d. Raonic 46 63 76 63</em></font> <br /> <br /> <br />Let the record reflect Raonic is a good egg. Measured and competent both on and off court. Proof that you need neither overwrought showmanship to make people like you, nor brattish confidence tricks to make things happen. <br /> <br />But his lack of experience showed today (not having ever played on RLA before can’t have helped either). <br /> <br />Not that he doesn’t have time on his side. <br /> <br /><img style="background-image: none; border-right-width: 0px; margin: 5px auto; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: block; float: none; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; padding-top: 0px" title="3d89fb7ee7e0916d6edb0fc67b1f0cbb-getty-508332861" border="0" alt="3d89fb7ee7e0916d6edb0fc67b1f0cbb-getty-508332861" src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/-VpBQzQThdv4/TxwaEXdPzDI/AAAAAAAACvQ/mpdAjd0AMjo/3d89fb7ee7e0916d6edb0fc67b1f0cbb-get%25255B1%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="301" height="462" /> <br />But tonight (and it always seems to be a night) belongs to the Rust.  <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /><img style="background-image: none; border-right-width: 0px; margin: 5px auto; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: block; float: none; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; padding-top: 0px" title="5b95108c3acc1879e1769dac93007082-getty-508332305" border="0" alt="5b95108c3acc1879e1769dac93007082-getty-508332305" src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-gesHn0h6TEI/TxwaFzWKINI/AAAAAAAACvY/iu4yrQ_NiWw/5b95108c3acc1879e1769dac93007082-get.jpg?imgmax=800" width="454" height="280" />  <br />…and to his fratty, Balboa Troubadours. <br /> <br /> <br /><img style="background-image: none; border-right-width: 0px; margin: 5px auto; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: block; float: none; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; padding-top: 0px" title="b241864785bdea6f52fbbd1f6671962c-getty-508332976" border="0" alt="b241864785bdea6f52fbbd1f6671962c-getty-508332976" src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/-tzWbHIuD_YU/TxwaHuYtMpI/AAAAAAAACvg/i_bV5D4_f8A/b241864785bdea6f52fbbd1f6671962c-getty-508332976%25255B1%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="388" height="302" /> <br /> <br />Exactly the kind of match Milos needed to win. <br /> <br /><img style="background-image: none; border-right-width: 0px; margin: 5px auto; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: block; float: none; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; padding-top: 0px" title="99023620f06a28cfa97dce16db759e38-getty-508332790" border="0" alt="99023620f06a28cfa97dce16db759e38-getty-508332790" src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/-jGec7_aUirw/TxwaJntesiI/AAAAAAAACvo/udTDHRETcig/99023620f06a28cfa97dce16db759e38-get%25255B1%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="336" height="370" /> <br /> <br />But I just don’t know how you <em>don’t</em> root for the (181st ranked) guy that set the benchmark for <em>“(counter)punching above your weight”</em> for over a decade, in what may be his last appearance here. <br /> <br /> <br /><img style="background-image: none; border-right-width: 0px; margin: 5px auto; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: block; float: none; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; padding-top: 0px" title="247b244311cb456de92aed1c698de02a-getty-137468614" border="0" alt="247b244311cb456de92aed1c698de02a-getty-137468614" src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-r7DiSn1S3kU/TxwaKoEHnDI/AAAAAAAACvw/hHH64iX7P28/247b244311cb456de92aed1c698de02a-get.jpg?imgmax=800" width="304" height="469" /> <br />He’s not everyone’s cup of tea…. <br /> <br /><a href="http://lh4.ggpht.com/-pQe1V2MOVSc/TxwaMEzPFdI/AAAAAAAACv4/SYtNvWHQg8s/s1600-h/bf9e3d4deecdad42d56caf449d7a650c-get%25255B1%25255D.jpg"><img style="background-image: none; border-right-width: 0px; margin: 5px auto; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: block; float: none; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; padding-top: 0px" title="bf9e3d4deecdad42d56caf449d7a650c-getty-137468617" border="0" alt="bf9e3d4deecdad42d56caf449d7a650c-getty-137468617" src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/-HN3UKK8pCN4/TxwaPTq33NI/AAAAAAAACwA/37WRNumLzWM/bf9e3d4deecdad42d56caf449d7a650c-get.jpg?imgmax=800" width="300" height="457" /></a> <br />The ride’s sometimes been bumpy…. <br /> <br /> <br /><img style="background-image: none; border-right-width: 0px; margin: 5px auto; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: block; float: none; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; padding-top: 0px" title="845035-lleyton-hewitt" border="0" alt="845035-lleyton-hewitt" src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-tw_UBnXVbKU/TxwaQdl06OI/AAAAAAAACwI/MzFj2-apVm8/845035-lleyton-hewitt4.jpg?imgmax=800" width="452" height="265" /> <br />And at times, downright garish…. <br /> <br /> <br /><img style="background-image: none; border-right-width: 0px; margin: 5px auto; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: block; float: none; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; padding-top: 0px" title="811497-lleyton-hewitt" border="0" alt="811497-lleyton-hewitt" src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-lJh-NEWEoSw/TxwaRu40cHI/AAAAAAAACwQ/mGaataWMGdY/811497-lleyton-hewitt%25255B5%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="426" height="255" /> <br /> <br />But his efforts have never commanded anything other than ABSOLUTE RESPECT. (Not as common as you’d think in an era of confidence tricksters, cry-babies and injury timeouts that are just….timeouts) <br /> <br /> <br /><img style="background-image: none; border-right-width: 0px; margin: 5px auto; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: block; float: none; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; padding-top: 0px" title="6959461a1958846708741fcc66ea4850-getty-508333058" border="0" alt="6959461a1958846708741fcc66ea4850-getty-508333058" src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-WBzWN_mWuRM/TxwaS-MDVCI/AAAAAAAACwY/MdvZLkmHBxA/6959461a1958846708741fcc66ea4850-getty-508333058%25255B1%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="452" height="328" /> <br /> <br />And I just can’t get past those four hip ops over four years. <br /> <br /> <br /><a href="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-xeJuj4x98sI/TxwaUd0xHsI/AAAAAAAACwg/xFPtdcfwzlk/s1600-h/2a4c921e6547c6d5689ed41def9a54a3-get%25255B2%25255D.jpg"><img style="background-image: none; border-right-width: 0px; margin: 5px auto; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: block; float: none; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; padding-top: 0px" title="2a4c921e6547c6d5689ed41def9a54a3-getty-137470718" border="0" alt="2a4c921e6547c6d5689ed41def9a54a3-getty-137470718" src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/-jSn7pgvCNzk/TxwaVAwIzgI/AAAAAAAACwo/3Lxph1AaylE/2a4c921e6547c6d5689ed41def9a54a3-get%25255B1%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="432" height="298" /></a> <br /> <br />He even lobbed Milos on MP. ALL 6’5 OF HIM. Yeah, lobbing gangloids is a thing now. All the <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IP-kapt_V7o">cool kids are doing it</a>. <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br />A week ago, he was a forgotten relic on my tagcloud….. <br /> <br /> <br /><img style="background-image: none; border-right-width: 0px; margin: 5px auto; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: block; float: none; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; padding-top: 0px" title="4f19c811ee15f.image" border="0" alt="4f19c811ee15f.image" src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/-IdxS7IHHFks/TxwaWaTCBGI/AAAAAAAACww/dNcvcX_W46w/4f19c811ee15f.image%25255B9%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="373" height="518" /> <br /> <br /> <br />Now he’s in R4 of his home Slam. <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /><a href="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-m6tbPNHTzRY/TxwaXEh9MDI/AAAAAAAACw4/ImWKYXodxPY/s1600-h/056b6753e23084499b96dc50ff2fbcdb-get%25255B1%25255D.jpg"><img style="background-image: none; border-right-width: 0px; margin: 5px auto; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: block; float: none; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; padding-top: 0px" title="056b6753e23084499b96dc50ff2fbcdb-getty-137470868" border="0" alt="056b6753e23084499b96dc50ff2fbcdb-getty-137470868" src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/-WX31mF8yFdA/TxwaYS5-wbI/AAAAAAAACxA/LSK_fRb6yIU/056b6753e23084499b96dc50ff2fbcdb-get.jpg?imgmax=800" width="396" height="274" /></a> <br />Heckuva run O polarising one….. <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /></p> <p><img style="background-image: none; border-right-width: 0px; margin: 5px auto; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: block; float: none; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; padding-top: 0px" title="610x (1)" border="0" alt="610x (1)" src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-T7kzYK42EJY/TxwaY0dbI9I/AAAAAAAACxI/NsRUXtXNtfA/610x-18.jpg?imgmax=800" width="461" height="341" /> </p> <object data="http://abfiles.s3.amazonaws.com/swf/fullsize_player.swf" height="129" id="boo_embed_633029" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="400"><param name="movie" value="http://abfiles.s3.amazonaws.com/swf/fullsize_player.swf" /><param name="scale" value="noscale" /><param name="salign" value="lt" /><param name="bgColor" value="#FFFFFF" /><param name="allowScriptAccess" value="always" /><param name="wmode" value="window" /><param name="FlashVars" value="mp3=http%3A%2F%2Faudioboo.fm%2Fboos%2F633029-record-scratch.mp3%3Fkeyed%3Dtrue%26source%3Dembed&mp3Title=record+scratch&mp3Time=03.39pm+21+Jan+2012&mp3LinkURL=http%3A%2F%2Faudioboo.fm%2Fboos%2F633029-record-scratch&mp3Author=hypotemuse&rootID=boo_embed_633029" /><a href="http://audioboo.fm/boos/633029-record-scratch.mp3?keyed=true&source=embed">record scratch (mp3)</a></object> <p> <br /> <br /></p> </span> Zafarhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11909444215193865334noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8948801468516043822.post-84989556293832908022012-01-20T15:21:00.001+00:002012-01-20T15:21:18.480+00:00Oz: Kind of a big deal, no?<span style="font-size: 85%"> <p> <br /> <br /><a href="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-ZwTWfTU-tvQ/TxmGZUbskwI/AAAAAAAACuo/_zcJR6_x3zY/s1600-h/ap-201201141951714790663%25255B11%25255D.jpg"><img style="background-image: none; border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; margin: 5px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: inline; border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px" title="ap-201201141951714790663" border="0" alt="ap-201201141951714790663" src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/-FwvuWI6FJqA/TxmGZwwoxyI/AAAAAAAACus/VSE3NaFyNLo/ap-201201141951714790663_thumb%25255B9%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="202" height="336" /></a> <a href="http://lh5.ggpht.com/-SfBUIOLWgk4/TxmGaTZeC4I/AAAAAAAACu0/ibfIZRXuxV4/s1600-h/kimclijsters_2698029_%25255B4%25255D.jpg"><img style="background-image: none; border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; margin: 5px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: inline; border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px" title="kimclijsters_2698029_" border="0" alt="kimclijsters_2698029_" src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-ru_sACjxjpU/TxmGbCApoJI/AAAAAAAACu8/hrELuWeITvI/kimclijsters_2698029__thumb%25255B2%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="253" height="336" /></a> <br /> <br /><strong>Quite simply the biggest R4 match up you’ll likely see at any Slam this year.</strong> <br /> <br />No really. When was the last time two <em>reigning</em> Grand Slam Champions met this early at any Slam? <br /> <br />I’ve not been able to find out. Seems to me this is <em>kind of</em> a big deal. <br /> <br />Anyone? <br /> <br /></p> </span> Zafarhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11909444215193865334noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8948801468516043822.post-21060965155605005862012-01-20T15:07:00.001+00:002012-01-20T15:08:12.102+00:00Oz: Don’t Jurrrdge Me.<span style="font-size: 85%"> <p> <br /> <br />Sorry people, but as obnoxious as the the whole Henin-like challenge-fakeout thing was (and it was), Bernard continues to interest me. <br /> <br /><img style="background-image: none; border-right-width: 0px; margin: 5px auto; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: block; float: none; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; padding-top: 0px" title="4f22ceaacc385f49f14ba1811163e557-getty-508307577" border="0" alt="4f22ceaacc385f49f14ba1811163e557-getty-508307577" src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-xZv6QfbmPaY/TxmDLmLfISI/AAAAAAAACuY/Ihf43ZfyQys/4f22ceaacc385f49f14ba1811163e557-getty-508307577%25255B5%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="328" height="499" /> <br /> <br />He’s clearly cemented his murky hobgoblin nature in the minds of most with this latest, incredibly silly stunt (probably fair), but the hobgoblin has GAME. And I just….can’t <em>not</em> take notice of it (same holds true for Dolgo). <br /> <br />Whilst it’s true the incident taints his win (and wasn’t really necessary), it’s also true the match was five sets long. <br /> <br />I’m not suggesting turning a blind eye but, just as with Nouni’s blunder only a couple of days ago (which many have sadly sought to dress up as something more insidious than a blunder), we’re missing a trick if we distil those five sets into just one incident of juvenile delinquency. <br /> <br />The fact is, however flamboyant and adorable Dolgo’s brand of ‘kooky’ might be, he simply doesn’t have the type of patience Bernie (love him or loathe him; <em>loathe mostly</em>) brings in spades, particularly in longer rallies. And I think that bore itself out over five sets. <br /> <br />All the same, I’m glad a match that promised so very much went the full five sets. And if that still leaves you feeling miffed, know that Fed will probably vanquish him (and avenge all you Dolgo fans) in straights. At least I think he will (God help us all from the interplanetary bratGasm if he doesn’t). <br /> <br /> <br /><img style="background-image: none; border-right-width: 0px; margin: 5px auto; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: block; float: none; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; padding-top: 0px" title="9defefe309e6c49e8ad05c4261237a02-getty-137393506" border="0" alt="9defefe309e6c49e8ad05c4261237a02-getty-137393506" src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-s53Pp52WV2g/TxmDMgAjXoI/AAAAAAAACuc/Er0iZNWShok/9defefe309e6c49e8ad05c4261237a02-getty-137393506%25255B5%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="352" height="537" /> <br /> <br />Let’s also not forget, <em>Dolgo’s not dead</em>, and lives to…..do whatever it is he does another day.</p> <p> <br />(Pics: Getty)</p> </span> Zafarhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11909444215193865334noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8948801468516043822.post-91504839377342036642012-01-18T17:01:00.001+00:002012-01-18T17:24:46.830+00:00Oz: Day Three Drive By<br /> <br /> <br /><span style="font-size: 85%"> <p> <br /><strong>1) Let’s be clear about this. I like Kader. And I like Daveed. None of that is likely to change very much. <br /></strong> <br /><img style="background-image: none; border-right-width: 0px; margin: 5px auto; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: block; float: none; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; padding-top: 0px" title="6358374a50b382d5b50024e44f4b3c90-getty-137261409" border="0" alt="6358374a50b382d5b50024e44f4b3c90-getty-137261409" src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-38AYZCj6Syc/Txb61SQz--I/AAAAAAAACuI/-FkB8DPtBO0/6358374a50b382d5b50024e44f4b3c90-getty-137261409%25255B6%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="334" height="514" /> <br /><font color="#000000"><em>Isner d. Nalbandian 4-6 6-3 2-6 7-6 10-8</em></font> <br /> <br />Kader made a dud call by not allowing David to challenge. And David was right to feel <a href="http://uk.eurosport.yahoo.com/video/18012012/58/furious-nalbanian-requests-referee.html">hard done by</a> that. An ignominious end to what sounded, otherwise, like a sensational match. <br /> <br />But I’ll never not be suspicious of those that attempt to explain away entire losses on the basis of one incident – it’s the goto-play of the desperate. Kader could have been <em>Alves-like</em> in his ump-misdemeanours, and it still wouldn’t change the fact that <em>tennis was being played both before and after that incident.</em> <br /> <br />Also, we’re <a href="http://t.co/g15uhVuw">questioning <em>Daveed’s charm</em></a><em>?</em> On the day Mardy went “Lardy” (again) and Baggy obliterated 4 racquets?? For feeling hard done by a call that <em>even Nouni</em> probably now admits was a shocker?? </p> <p> </p> <p><iframe style="width: 497px; height: 305px" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/2QQtG9Vwfoo" frameborder="0" width="560" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe> <br /></p> <br />Magnificent. <br /> <br /> <br /><strong>2) It’s not news to anyone that Rafa should beat Haas in straights, but am I alone in thinking he should have been made to play this one without pummelling more than two shots in succession high into the veteran’s single-handed backhand? Where have we seen <em>that </em>before?</strong> <br /> <br />Seems only fair. And a little more <em>inspired</em>. <br /> <br /><strong>3) Lleyton/ARod last (<em>last</em>) on RLA??</strong> <br /> <br />Seems to me we ought to know better by now than to schedule <em>either</em> one of Lleyton or Baghdatis in a night match. <br /> <br />The matches don’t always promise to be gripping and there’s practically ZERO chances of them finishing before brekkie the following day. We hold these truths to be self-evident, but for some reason they’re <em>especially</em> true of Melbourne. <br /> <br />I’m not convinced ARod has it in him to go the distance quite like he once did (nor, for that matter, does Lleyton), but if it does, expect more common sense and less delinquency than you’ll find in Gael v Bellucci. Also a night match. <br /> <br /> <br /><img style="background-image: none; border-right-width: 0px; margin: 5px auto; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: block; float: none; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; padding-top: 0px" title="658eaed99e44d347130d92467d259691-getty-508260914" border="0" alt="658eaed99e44d347130d92467d259691-getty-508260914" src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/-Zn-cEGCetXQ/Txb62IyZiJI/AAAAAAAACuM/WU1REqG-E2E/658eaed99e44d347130d92467d259691-getty-508260914%25255B4%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="449" height="367" /> <br /> <p> <br /><strong>4) You may think grunting is a non-issue (it is), you may point to the fact that the players don’t seem to mind (they couldn’t care less) but I do have a lot of time for the viewpoint (Wertheim’s, amongst others) that says it <em>becomes</em> an issue once it begins “alienating its core clientele”……that would be the fans.</strong> <br /> <br />But those Neanderthals?? Mimicking Vika in the stands today? Not part of that clientele. Trust me, our sport’s not in crisis because some stoned pot-bellies (that probably only watch tennis for 2 weeks each year) decided to make a day of it. <br /> <br />Consider them alienated. <br /> <br />(Pics: Getty)</p> </span> Zafarhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11909444215193865334noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8948801468516043822.post-75873917250452986882012-01-17T17:11:00.001+00:002012-01-17T17:20:28.988+00:00Oz: “He just does…”<span style="font-size: 85%"> <p> <br /> <br /> <br /><img style="background-image: none; border-right-width: 0px; margin: 5px auto; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: block; float: none; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; padding-top: 0px" title="8efe1d970459ae72cd61af76f79ab3be-getty-137242559" border="0" alt="8efe1d970459ae72cd61af76f79ab3be-getty-137242559" src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/--CHxe_dB2dU/TxWrx2suW6I/AAAAAAAACt4/Ih7pjROzieI/8efe1d970459ae72cd61af76f79ab3be-getty-137242559%25255B6%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="465" height="326" /> <br /><em><font color="#000000">Andy Murray d. Ryan Harrison 4-6 6-3 6-4 6-2</font></em> <br /> <br />Will never fail to crack me up how circumspect tennis writing suddenly becomes when trying to explain the <em>mechanics</em> of how Murray actually won a match. #HeJustDoes <br /> <br />Most don’t even try. And you really can’t blame them. <br /> <br />Go ahead and experiment: pick your favourite three outlets and see if <em>you</em> come out of it any more informed or demystified. YOU CANNOT. NOBODY CAN.  PERHAPS NOT EVEN MURRAY (Tignor, to his credit <a href="http://blogs.tennis.com/thewrap/2012/01/who-was-that-masked-muzz.html">does, at least, try</a>). <br /> <br /> <br /><img style="background-image: none; border-right-width: 0px; margin: 5px auto; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: block; float: none; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; padding-top: 0px" title="a6463f0a101c3a4cb4e71f7ee0d06d0e-getty-508237764" border="0" alt="a6463f0a101c3a4cb4e71f7ee0d06d0e-getty-508237764" src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-NPSty797j6k/TxWryhE7xCI/AAAAAAAACuA/TxqH-aK16To/a6463f0a101c3a4cb4e71f7ee0d06d0e-getty-508237764%25255B4%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="383" height="611" /> <br />Maybe that’s what’s bothering him</p> <p> <br /> <br /></p> (Pics: Getty) </span> Zafarhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11909444215193865334noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8948801468516043822.post-86706234206344070282012-01-16T16:39:00.001+00:002012-01-16T16:52:48.659+00:00Oz: The Artful Dodger<span style="font-size: 85%"> <p> <br /> <br /><img style="background-image: none; border-right-width: 0px; margin: 5px auto; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: block; float: none; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; padding-top: 0px" title="kimclijsters_2698029" border="0" alt="kimclijsters_2698029" src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-J3Hr-p8QkoI/TxRSsBbxQaI/AAAAAAAACtw/nVhCGoEuw6w/kimclijsters_2698029%25255B6%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="331" height="539" /></p> <p> </p> <blockquote> <p><strong> <br /><em>Q.  Was there any time in the match when his body language showed you something that you focused on?</em></strong><em><strong> </strong><strong></strong></em></p> <p><em>BERNARD TOMIC:  Um, yeah, in the third set.  He thought  I had a feeling he knew I was going to go away.  I eased off, as well, I think on purpose.  I eased off and seemed I didn't care, and I think that's what drawed him a little bit tonight.  He thought he was going to win that third set, and when the right time came, I broke him.  </em></p> <p><em>You know, after that the third set, you know, he started getting a little bit tight and not hitting his shots. </em></p> <p><em><strong></strong><strong></strong></em></p> <p><em><strong>Q.  So you set him up a little bit?</strong><strong> </strong><strong></strong></em></p> <p><em>BERNARD TOMIC:  In that third set, yeah.  I knew if I lifted my game early, he would have lifted as well and he wouldn't have let go.  I pretended a little bit in the first few games in that third set to not be there as mentally, but in a way to still be there.   <br /></em> <br /></p> </blockquote> <br />Ya know, I’m not quite so sure he’s pulled off the confidence trick he thinks he has.  <br /> <br />It doesn’t surprise me to learn that he <em>tried </em>to pull it off (it happens on tour all the time), and not to say that it didn’t influence things, but Dasco, honey, you did this to yourself, <em>all by yourself. <br /> <br /></em> <p>To be fair to Fer, he did mention he was affected by the heat – his undoing was at least as much a function of that as anything else. But, ultimately, the whole rope-a-dope thing (as a form of mental fakeout ) seems to me to be selling Bernard quite short.  If he’s rope-a-doping <em>anyone</em> (and he is) it’s because of his style of play, not because he’s pretending to be on the ropes. <br /> <br />His pre-match <a href="http://www.skynews.com.au/sport/article.aspx?id=707486&vId=2990750&cId=Sport">smack talk</a> re Dasco’s BH (“can’t really hurt me”) may have been derided as childish – it also happened to be spot on. And, from what I saw of the highlights, going deep to that wing seemed to work a treat. <br /> <br />Reminder: Dolgo/Bernie (R3)…..if ‘kooks’ are your thing. <br /> <br />(Pic: Getty)</p> </span> Zafarhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11909444215193865334noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8948801468516043822.post-37459588852473224902012-01-11T23:19:00.001+00:002012-01-11T23:42:24.083+00:00You Just Knew.<span style="font-size: 85%"> <p> <br /> <br /> <br /></p> <blockquote class="twitter-tweet"> <p>Sorry to anounce that I had to withdraw from the Australian Open with a lower back stress fracture.Going back home,will miss my Aussie fans!</p> — Andrea Petkovic (@andreapetkovic) <a href="https://twitter.com/andreapetkovic/status/156928758186643458" data-datetime="2012-01-11T02:41:46+00:00">January 11, 2012</a></blockquote> <script src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script> <br /> <br />No, that’s just what you expect to happen only hours after you dare to make a post criticising an almost universally popular player. <br /> <br />The long and the short of it is that this <em>stinks</em>. Stress fractures in the back demand to be taken very seriously indeed (just ask Dinara). <br /> <br />Petko made no less than <em>three Slam QFs </em>last year, one of which, of course, was at Melbourne. It wasn’t just me wanting to see her build upon (or at least to defend) that. <br /> <br />After that loss, incidentally, she gave one of the most thoughtful pressers I think I might have seen from any player, <em>ever – </em>commenting in particular on that infamous Sveta/Franny dog fight that had also finished around the same time. It was as sincere, as well-mannered and insightful as anything you’re likely to see, the very embodiment of “giving to your fans”. <br /> <br />In other words, it was <em>Andrea Petkovic </em>(rather than Petkorazzi) at her very best both on and off-court. <br /> <br />I’ll miss her. <br /> <br />*** <br /> <br />Not even Caro (wrist injury) has been spared in what will come to be known years from now as the ‘Lucky Loser Bonanza’ of Aus 2012. <em>Is our eventual Champion be a qualifier? </em>Stranger things have happened. <br /> <br />You’d think that if Caro’s not safe, no one is – and yet Vika, <em>of all people, somehow still is.</em> <br /> <br />Caro’s almost certain to lose the top spot now – Petra will be crowned new WTA Prom Queen by simply winning her next two matches. And even if it doesn’t happen now, you imagine it soon will. <br /> <br />In other words (and I know this might be painful for some) , on the grounds of <em>taste alone</em>, it’s time to move on from <a href="http://blogs.tennis.com/tennisworld/2012/01/the-no-1-thing.html?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=twitter">that “Slamless” thing.</a> <br /></span> Zafarhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11909444215193865334noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8948801468516043822.post-24310613409609852652012-01-10T18:58:00.001+00:002012-01-10T19:00:32.134+00:00Let it go, Petko - the fans will (still) come.<span style="font-size: 85%"> <p> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /></p> <blockquote> <p> <br />ANDREA PETKOVIC, the entertainer of women's tennis, has been forced to abandon her trademark victory dance after complaints from players and American media, her father said.</p> <p>… <br /></p> <p><strong>Petkovic's father, Zoran, said after the match that players had complained about the dance, saying it was over the top.</strong></p> <p>Petkovic herself said she decided to change the routine ahead of the Brisbane International last week in response to continued questioning from journalists in the US.</p> <p> </p> <p><em>''[People] didn't tell me to my face and I don't read about myself so I wouldn't know [if there was criticism], but the questions they started saying, 'Don't you feel like it's disrespectful towards your opponent?' … and this question came up over and over again,''</em> she said. <br /> <br /></p> <p><em>''The thing I used to say was always, 'Listen, the soccer players when they shoot a goal and they celebrate with all kinds of things and they don't even win the match, and nobody would ever say something against them. Or the American football guys, when they do a touchdown they do a cha-cha-cha and nobody ever says anything against them.''</em></p> <p><em></em></p> <p>Petkovic said the conservatism of tennis made the dance a problem for some commentators. ''It's just our very traditional sport and I think this was kind of strange for people,'' she said. </p> <p><em>-- </em><a href="http://www.smh.com.au/sport/tennis/americans-out-of-step-with-petkovics-celebration-dance-20120109-1prwo.html"><em>Sydney Morning Herald</em></a> <br /> <br /></p> </blockquote> <p> <br /> <br />Finally. <br /> <br />Voluntary disclosure: I’m beginning to feel about Petko  the way some feel about Kim Kardashian. <br /> <br />Where others see charm, harmless fun and even wit(??), I only hear scratchy blackboard noises. <br /> <br />It wasn’t always like this, but it doesn’t take long for gimmicks (coz that’s what they are) to wear out and to be taken the wrong way (just ask Novak). <br /> <br />The comparison with team sports doesn’t wash. Very different dynamic and fan DNA. Little, if anything, to do with ‘conservatism’. <br /> <br />But for me, it’s less a question of the dance being ‘disrespectful’ to anyone (it really isn’t meant that way) than a feeling of<em> flat-out tackiness</em> I can’t seem to dismiss(particularly with ‘Petkorazzi’) . You should certainly be able to see why it might not be to everyone’s taste, especially when you do it after <a href="http://www.tennis.com.au/news/2011/01/05/dokic-falls-hard-to-petkovic">dumping out an injured opponent love-and-Oh</a>. <br /> <br /><img style="background-image: none; border-right-width: 0px; margin: 5px auto; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: block; float: none; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; padding-top: 0px" title="Andrea Petkovic Brisbane International 2011 tZzRO4weMgHl" border="0" alt="Andrea Petkovic Brisbane International 2011 tZzRO4weMgHl" src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-Ay3pysPpstI/TwyKXLi2ndI/AAAAAAAACtQ/7rmtBs0qQBE/Andrea%25252BPetkovic%25252BBrisbane%25252BInternational%25252B2011%25252BtZzRO4weMgHl%25255B4%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="500" height="368" /> <br /></p> <p>As it happens, I don’t know that I much understand complaints from the US press either, which seem <em>equally</em> OTT. You’re not compelled to like EVERYTHING you write about, nor to write about anything you so strongly <em>dislike</em>. And, frankly, it’s difficult to take such complaints about Petko giving “offence” seriously in the same week a mainstream US outlet saw fit to label Monfils an “idiot”. <br /> <br />But I’d say we’ve reached a tipping point when more and more players start coming out against the dance (would be interesting to know exactly <em>who </em>came out). <em>Players</em>, <em>your</em> <em>peers</em> – not blogger riff-raff like myself, or anyone that might be dismissed so easily as a “hater”. <br /> <br />It’s naive (and a little conceited) to think that everyone <em>will, or should,</em> like it, as many of her supporters seem to insist upon.  <a href="http://tennisisserved.blogspot.com/2011/03/miami-noticeboard.html">Maria certainly didn’t</a>.  Maria ain’t riff-raff either. And its only sensible for someone as savvy as Petko to take note. <br /> <br /></p> <blockquote> <br />She said she was surprised by the negative reaction in the US in particular. '<em>'It's strange - on the one hand the Americans really like me and they come to my matches, but they're like really bipolar,'' she said. ''They either love me or they hate me.'' <br /></em> <br /></blockquote> <br /> <br />I hope I know her better than to think the worst, but a tennis newbie might be excused for reading this quote as just a <em>little</em> self-absorbed: believe it or not, there’s a silent majority that don’t feature in Petko’s “love-me-hate-me” dichotomy of the US – <em>one that simply couldn’t care less.</em> One can only wonder why those WTA-fan-cliques that kick up such a fuss over Woz making it <em>“all about her” </em>overlook stuff like this. <br /> <br />She seems, in all other respects, an intelligent and likeable person – <em>genuinely </em>affable, her net embraces are second to none (particularly after a loss). I certainly don’t believe in ragging on her for merely trying to bring something a little different to the sport. <br /> <br />But she also seems talented enough <em>and savvy enough</em> to be able to work her charms without resorting to gimmickry, and to know when such gimmickry has run its course. In other words, <em>you’re better than this. </em> <br /> <br />There’s a difference between waging the occasional “charm offensive”, working it effortlessly (and unexpectedly) into the public eye, the way, say, <a href="http://www.tennis.com/articles/templates/thespin.aspx?articleid=15688&zoneid=32">Sveta did this week</a>, and try-hard stunts that (rightly or wrongly) betray a certain craving for popularity. <br /> <br />I want to think well of you (and let’s face it, other than this, there’s a LOT to like), so let it go. Let it go, and believe me, the fans will come (and stay).</span> Zafarhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11909444215193865334noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8948801468516043822.post-22499579780042282692012-01-04T21:45:00.001+00:002012-01-04T22:19:44.207+00:00D̶o̶n̶'̶t̶ ̶E̶v̶e̶r̶ change: 2012…Why you so 2011?<span style="font-size: 85%"> <p> <br /> <br /><em>What might we rightly infer based on all of the 4 days we’ve had of 2012?</em> <br /> <br />1) <a href="http://www1.skysports.com/tennis/news/12110/7409410/Clijsters-hits-back-to-win">Ana’s still struggling</a>. [Please don’t change your coach]  <br /> <br />2) Bartoli’s still not shy of <a href="http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2012/tennis/01/03/hopman.cup.france.ap/index.html">almost double bagelling</a> those that are still struggling (no sadz Jarmila, it’s a Marion thing – she did the exactly the same to Safina this time last year). Still, <a href="http://footfault.net/2012/01/03/marion-bartoli-double-bagels-gajdosova-feels-bad-about-it/">nice reaction</a>. <br /> <br />3) Kim’s still taking three to do what should rightly be done in two. <br /> <br />Rust, yes? She’s played next to nothing since early last year. Except I’m not completely convinced she wouldn’t have found a way of playing three sets anyway. <br /> <br /><img style="background-image: none; border-right-width: 0px; margin: 5px auto; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: block; float: none; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; padding-top: 0px" title="kimclijsters_2698029" border="0" alt="kimclijsters_2698029" src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/-ARnCDanYDOo/TwTIeSlL_-I/AAAAAAAACtI/YLgKQomQVlI/kimclijsters_2698029%25255B4%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="489" height="271" /> <br /> <br />4) Gael Monfils is still inventing new ways of incorporating muscle (he didn't even know he had) into set-motions it had NO BUSINESS being part of. <br /> <br />5) <a href="http://www.tennis.com/articles/templates/features.aspx?articleid=15595&zoneid=9">Sam Stosur is still losing matches</a> <em>she</em> has NO BUSINESS losing. [Can’t see her or Li repeating last year. <a href="http://uk.reuters.com/article/2012/01/03/uk-tennis-hopman-china-idUKTRE80208H20120103">Happy to be proved wrong</a>] <br /> <br />6) Serena Williams is still getting headlines for all the wrong reasons. <br /> <br /><em>Well that didn’t take long, did it?</em> <br /> <br />For the record, I dislike it <em>intensely</em> when people give her a free pass for indefensible conduct and, even worse, try and depict even the <em>mildest</em> criticism of that indefensible conduct as a uniquely conspiratorial witch hunt. <br /> <br />I’ll <em>continue</em> to dislike it in 2012, because, being honest, I don’t expect it to go away. <br /> <br />I <em>also</em> don’t expect to see the back of its flipside: that (very mainstream) injury cynicism some are ideologically hell-bent on <em><a href="http://espn.go.com/tennis/story/_/id/7423589/serena-williams-injury-bad-omen-2012">(we’re calling it “karma” now?</a></em>) – cynicism that persists even in the face of video evidence (2:27), <em>and even when a subsequent MRI scan confirms the injury:</em> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /><iframe style="width: 493px; height: 302px" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/NdjzH9q0w9I" frameborder="0" width="560" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe> <br /> <br /> <br />The ‘Free-Passers’ inspire revulsion, which in turn bolsters the repellent views of the Injury Cynics and vice versa.  <strong>It’s very obvious the two polarised trends are designed to feed off one another in a deadly embrace from which there can be no escape – my guess is they <em>don’t want </em>to escape.</strong> <br /> <br />Sometimes bad conduct is simply bad conduct, which Serena, like many, <em>many</em> before (and I daresay after) her, is neither <em>immune</em> to nor <em>irreproachable</em> for.  Sometimes, dearest trolls, it’s <em>not</em> a conspiracy. <br /> <br />And sometimes, dearest hobgoblins, an injury is just an injury – nothing more, nothing less. Not an occasion to use as a cathartic vehicle to air distaste, vendettas, your very <em>personal</em> dislike (or another word some venture that you’d hope shouldn’t be part of this discussion) of Serena, the way some air their soiled undies. <br /> <br />Perhaps we shouldn’t be surprised, then, that this, too, hasn’t changed in 2012. Trolls are still trolls whatever the Gregorian Calendar might have to say about it. <br /> <br />Only Rafa’s unveiling of his <a href="http://blogs.tennis.com/the_pro_shop/2012/01/weighing-in-on-rafas-heavier-racquet.html">new top-heavy frame</a>, and of course Murray’s announcement of  what he hopes will be a game-changing (and perhaps shape-shifting) partnership with Ivan Lendl (Murr-dl?) buck this trend of <em>same-iness</em>, but of course neither count as both were announced in 2011. <br /> <br />Either the tennis season’s pulling <em>one hell</em> of a fast one and intends to unleash a seismic gamechanger later this year (which, being honest, would have to be at least as seismic as Novak or even Petra’s year to count), <em>or the season really will prove to be that trite and that unconvincing… <br /></em></p> </span> Zafarhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11909444215193865334noreply@blogger.com0