Oz: Time.

 

 

 

I have a good start season. I beat Feliciano López last week and today I won another match. That's what I need. I need time, I need matches, I need sets, I need hours into the court. Then in the future, I will be better.

-- Juan Martin del Potro

 

 

Baghdatis d. del Potro 6-1, 6-3, 4-6, 6-3

 

Other than getting (and surviving) some prolonged competitive matchplay, I had practically no expectations from Delpo which means he’s already exceeded mine.

 

Taking out a top 100 player in straights and then getting a set off one of the best shotmakers in the game counts as a win in my book.

 

And aside from a couple of hairy moments where he looked to be alleviating pressure from his wrist (one of which sent his racquet flying out of his hand), he looks to have survived the 2h 42min hour encounter intact.

 

The man says he needs time – which I take to mean months rather than weeks.

 

Welcome back big guy.

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Four Weddings and a FeduNadal

 

 

getty

 

We can be jovial about this.

 

I went to bed - on a Friday night,

With Nadal-and-Baggee on ma teh-lleee…

 

When I woke up,

The whole world was shook up,

 

And Fed and Nadal but a storeeee….

 

 

…or we can wallow in our grief over one of W. H. Auden’s lesser known works:

 

The stars are not wanted now; put out every one,
Pack up the moon and dismantle the sun,
Pour away the ocean and paint your house grey,
Throw out the face-paint; there’ll be no Fedal today

 

 

 

Although, hand on heart, how many of you can really say you wanted it this soon?

 

I know many will disagree, but for me their last meeting drew a blank. Like two drunk and disorderlies forced to patch up their differences at a makeshift charity do no one wants to attend.

 

They’re both inching towards finding their form. Feds shown more flourish but also more confunktion. Rafa was roundly outplayed last night but is also the more steadier of the two.

 

Give it another week I say, let them play themselves into more affable spirits before we once again force them upon one another.

 

As for Baggy, you’d be a fool to ever doubt him. You’d be a fool to bet the house on him too but that’s part of the deal and, I daresay, the appeal. For some people.For others, just like that recent Fedal fail, he too draws a blank.

 

Me, I’m in the middle. I don’t think his smile is tennis’s solution to world peace (Franny’s is) but I do enjoy his groundies and elephant-on-ice dance moves as much as I enjoy Nalbandian’s.

 

 

It’s not often such impeccable timing, efficient weight transfer and fluid movement unite in one player. When that player looks more like a Highland Caber Tosser than a tennis player, it makes the spectacle more-peculiar still.

 

Federer was sublime over Kolya. To be fair, in the first set they both were.

 

The surprising thing this time, however, was Fed’s defence – if I didn’t know any better I’d almost believe he’s found the patience to sustain rallies under pressure. As I say, I know better.

 

With that single break and that first set gone, Kolya began a spraying spree that almost certainly prevented this from going into a third set. Twas a shame because for one set we had the makings of what could have been the match of the week.

 

No one should be surprised at Nole’s and Muzz’s departure. The only amazing thing is how long Muzz ,in particular, lasted in the heat.

 

The good: He’ll get plenty of time to rest up ahead of Flushing.

 

The bad: Mardy Fish might win the US Open Series.

 

The ugly: CazWoz is seeded #1 at the USO (don’t expect me to ‘drop it’ any time soon).

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You had to be there.

 

getty

 

Kuznetsova d. Radwanska 6-4, 6-7 (7), 6-3

 

A mostly dominating performance from Sveta apart from a joke of a second set tie break when the wee gremlins occupying her brain took control of the ship, putting the ‘case’ firmly back in front of the ‘head’.

 

In what has to be the the single most spontaneous act of cerebral combustion seen this year, Sveta blew away Championship after Championship point and with it the second set tie break – allowing Aga back in, all after being 4-0 and 6-3 up.

 

"It was very hard to close and I choked for first time in my life," said the two-time Grand Slam champion.

…

"My knees were shaking and I couldn't push on my serve and now I know why people double fault on match points," added Kuznetsova.

"I just shook. The trophy was very important to me. I was very embarrassed and I just got it back together and dictated.

"To play that bad at end of the second set and then to let her come back and see me choke, I had to be twice as strong in the third set and I was.

"It's pretty funny now that I won the match, but if I lost I might be thinking: 'should I finish playing tennis?' I doubt it will happen again."

-- BBC

 

“First time in her life?” Quite possibly.

 

You really had to be there.

 

It’s easy to assume Sveta’s simply talking up her confidence – blowing away unassailable leads is, after all, as familiar to her as the act of creating them in the first place.

 

But that’s mostly been through her aggravating tendency to believe she’ll make winners where none exist.

 

This was about nerve. Nerve so palpable, you could practically taste it behind your teeth – knowing that a double was on it’s way well before Sveta stepped up to serve.  Icky-unnerving and not at all for the faint of heart.

 

Difficult not to feel for Aga who, for two sets, played to the best of her ability. Reaching the finals here should further entrench her top ten ranking and, as I think I said earlier, I think she’s kinda earnt it.

 

getty

 

Nalbandian d. Baghdatis 6-2, 7-6 (4)

 

I know. I know.

 

All the narratives are in place. An unseeded wildcard. Ranked outside the top 100. Back from a hip injury. Not played since April.

 

And yet I remain unmoved.

 

It’s quite simple really. It’s as much a mistake to believe Nalbie will be upended by anything so trifling as hip surgery as it is to believe he’ll carry over this form wreaking havoc in the USO.

 

“If he plays like that,” Baghdatis said, “he can beat a lot of guys in the top 10.”

 

And if he doesn’t?

 

The real joy and wonder comes from knowing that in Sveta and Nalbie we have two stellar players whose form week in week out is as elusive as the location of a quantum particle.

 

In any given week they’re as likely to beat a string of top ten players as they are to exit in the first round of Warsaw.

 

If you were to attempt to jump into a wall a couple of trillion times, quantum theory predicts that your atoms  would, eventually, reconstitute on the other side.

 

Magic when it happens – nothing more than a sore head most of the other time.

 

For now I’ll content myself with knowing that they’ve made themselves relevant again.

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Fancy meeting you here.

 

 

 

I’d have liked to have seen a Malisse/Nalbie final -- it’s been that sort of event – but this works too.

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Indian Wells: Playing Catch Up

So a busy couple of days and my neighbour deciding to scaffold over the cable that brings in my sat signal minutes before they’re due to broadcast highlights of Baggy’s win over Fed, mean I’m a little behind, and a little out of sorts.

It also means I’ve largely relied on 2nd hand accounts to piece together an understanding of what happened.

Still gotta say this though.

Fancy THAT?

(Photo by Matthew Stockman/Getty Images)

From what I can tell, the main talking point appears to be Fed’s inability to make good on no less than three match points. Which I’ll be the first to admit is a little scary.

It also seems obligatory to recognise that this hasn’t taken place since Rome 2006 – so let me do the same, although it’s there I’d say the similarities end.

Let me add one more: Baggy has been away for too long, and he’s too good a player not to take advantage of Fed-Long-Shanks lapsing the night away.

[20] I Ljubicic (CRO) d [2] N Djokovic (SRB) 75 63

Only caught the last few games of this.

Djoko’s been complaining of “not feeling the ball” all week - when you consider the amount of three setters he’s played since Dubai, this should hardly be surprising. Throw in an emotionally charged Davis Cup Tie and you can see why he might rather be inclined to wilt in the desert.

That said, and even if you discount the way he fended off those three match points opposite Kohlschreiber, I still didn’t expect this result.

At first I put it down to big serving from the Gentle Giant (who did win over 70% of the points on his first serve), but then learnt he also hit twice the winners Djoko did.

I hadn’t followed him much at this event, but I will now.

A Radwanska (POL) d E Dementieva (RUS) 6-3 6-3

"I was so slow. I was reaching for the ball instead of going forward and attacking her second serve," she told AFP.

"She slowed down the game a lot and mixed it up a lot. You have to be very aggressive. You have to step forward. You have to create something. I was way too slow."

-- Elena Dementieva, CNN

Were it anyone else, and I’d be sorely disappointed for Elena. With Henin, Clijsters and anyone else considered a “contender” (what ever that means these days) out before the quarters, I was almost ready to declare this event was ‘hers for the taking’.

Then I remembered how I’d already jinxed out the other half of the top ten. It seems I possess a greater talent for picking upsets than winners.

Still, so glad to see this, even if it’s at the expense of one of my favourite players.

It was first apparent when she came through against Bartoli (a match I expected her to lose).

Still unsure of when or how it happened, but make no mistake - Aggy, since the last time I saw her, has transfigured herself into a badass mutant ball striker. As ‘mutant’ as her slight frame will allow.

She’s always had the guile, that intangible ability to get heftier opponents off balance and wondering why they’re losing points they were largely in control of – a quality that’s led her to being compared to Hingis.

I prefer to think of her as ‘Agnieszka’ - and her less-overtly aggressive brand of tennis as born of her own instincts.

[3] R Nadal (ESP) d [15] J Isner (USA) 75 36 63

Isner may have faded into insignificance in that last set, but with Rafa playing as well as he is, deserves all kinds of props for pushing him as hard as he did in sets one and two.

I don’t do so very often, but I find my hand forced in declaring John Isner a ‘top tenner-in-waiting’ on the tenuous grounds that he’s “So much more than a serve and a forehand”.

As for Rafa, yes he’s playing as well as he was in Oz, perhaps even better – yes,we all know how that ended – no, I don’t get the feeling the same will happen again.

On the other hand it’s all too premature to begin declaring the title as “his for the taking”, now that Fed and Djoko have left the building.

In any case, and taking form and history into account, it’s more natural right now to think of Soderling and Berdych as greater threats.

[6] R Soderling (SWE) d [9] J Tsonga (FRA) 63 64

I loved the look of of both La Monf and Tsonga as they marched into this event. They both seemed charged up with a euphoric intensity I put down to that recent Davis Cup win over Germany (Ok, so that’s kind of Monfils’ default “game face” anyway).

Tonight Jo-Willy learned the hard way that big serving and starry-eyes alone do not suffice, as all six of his lights were roundly punched out.

Big Rob has been working his way through the draw under everyone’s radar, seemingly happy to embrace his fate as the “player everyone loves to hate and who takes down the players they simply love”

Being a fan of Mr Jellybeans myself, I need not explain why this isn’t the way I feel, or if anything, why that’s rather an integral part of the charm.

It’s difficult to see what Jo could have done any differently, as he he was prevented by Big Rob’s penetrating flatties from his usual go-to of coming to the net.

The sight of a Frenchman stationed metres behind the baseline is one that fills me with revulsion and a pleasure I usually forego. As it stands, I have no reproof for young Jo today, just bags of actual compassion and heaps of jellybeans.

***

A week or so before news of Vaidisova’s retirement broke, I remember reading of her defeat to 17 year old Heather Watson of GB in the first round of the Tangipahoa Tennis Classic – an ITF event – and thinking to myself that she really ought to have a long hard think about her future in this game.

The media have all but given up making any mention of her – unless that is they want to wheel out the odd overly-worn contextualisation of Ivanovic’s ailing form.

With that it mind, it comes as little surprise to learn she is said to “have tired of losing and lacks the desire to grind her way back”.

I couldn’t help however, feeling a slight lump in my throat, when reminded that she made the quarters of Wimbledon as recently as 2008: 20 months does seem astonishingly fast for a demise of this magnitude.

20 years, on the other hand, seems a little young to settle down (she's to marry Stepanek in July) – did I mention it also leaves ample time to ‘unretire’?

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Dubai: Final Line Up and my ‘Notes on a Scandal’

There’ll be no further reposting of what I’ll only gingerly be referring to as “the video”.

We’ve all seen the video – correction, we’ve all experienced, the video.

You don’t need me to do another “me too” post about it.

Though the following must be gotten off my chest.

A collection of my choicest reactions over the last 15 hours.

• “Oh Rafa – What will your mother say!?”
• “What will Xisca say!?”
• “You did ask her?”
• “$$$***$$#####”
• “Your ingénue appeal is forever lost.”
• “No wonder your knee hurts!”

All I need now is for Murray to do a cover of “You can call me Al” (in the role played by Paul Simon of course), and my life will be complete.

***

Speaking of my life being complete – as of yet it’s only half way there.

Headbanger came through in straights against Melzer who’s yet to form any meaningful impression on me.

Djoko’s just put out Baggy – to which I say pesh-tosh.

It also means I’ll be firmly ensconced in Camp Headbang tomorrow.

You might think it strange for me to be rooting against Djoko, but rest assured I have his best interests at heart.

A win for him here will benefit precisely no one.

Not him, and certainly not tennis.

The way I figure it, he might get a little too complacent, maybe a little too content with winning the odd 500 event now and again, when he should be pitching his tent at the Masters and Slams. At least that’s what I thought the agenda was.

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Being Open about ‘Open’: Hate, Consciousness and ‘Film Noir’

[You are reading the first in a series on Andre Agassi's 'Open']

I’ve just begun reading ‘Open’. Agassi’s retelling of the strange mix of pain, anguish, emotion and euphoria he calls life.

A life largely shaped (if we are to believe the account) by his now infamous hatred of tennis.

Hate is a strong word. At this point, only two chapters into the book, I find it difficult to understand how he could comprehensively hate something he does so well, and that has brought him the fame and success that undoubtedly changed his life forever. The rewards of which have enabled him to channel so much into his school for underprivileged children.

It’s not that I have trouble believing him, and I have encountered friends and colleagues before, who loathe the prospect of giving themselves over to a life in pursuit of something that to me, they seem cut out for.

It’s almost as if Agassi’s recollection of his fragile and inherently polarised relationship with the sport has become skewed. The greater picture lost in between the seams of subjectivity inherent to that stream of consciousness he draws upon – a literary device not without it’s flaws.

I decide I’m willing to suspend my doubt until after finishing the book.

I also decide not to unwittingly lapse into the stream of my own consciousness.

*Snaps out of it*

Having not historically been a huge fan of Sports Bios, I was reluctant to change anything on this occasion, not least because the reports of his use of Crystal Meth probably fuelled sales.

At this point I’m not sure what I’m going to do.

This is not a book review.

I don’t even promise the rigour of a Book Club.

But I will share the sections of the book I found most interesting, and make no apologies for the lack of attentiveness to structure and chronology.

And besides, I’m not much into the idea of doing an end of year wrap-up like in 2008. Maybe I’ll get back to that. Don’t hold your breath.

The book opens with a vivid account of Agassi awakening amidst a haze of pain in the foetal position on the floor of his hotel room. Gingerly finding his way to his feet and thence to the breakfast table – a process he describes as “negotiation”. A game he’s been playing with his body for some years now, bartering not with blue chips but with cortisone shots, slowly cajoling a body that’s already retired to emerge from it, if only for a moment.

Jaden and Jazz are reassured that if Daddy loses tonight, he retires (or present-tense “retire” as they like to put it), and they’ll get a doggy. “We might even name it Cortisone”.

I get the feeling that the book will be full of dry humour like this. Not necessarily a bad thing.

I’m naturally suspicious of works claiming to employ a “stream of consciousness”, mostly because it takes a particularly astute writer to pull it off.

The approach itself is also not without it’s critics, as it involves drawing upon an experience some would argue is both inherently flawed and somewhat misrepresented as a “stream” - using it for a sports bio then, might seem a uniquely risky proposition.

The amazing thing is, it translates rather well to what you might reasonably think of as being the sections it’s least suited to: actual tennis.

‘Open’ is refreshingly brave in it’s approach of not shying away from talking tennis, sometimes in painstaking ball-by-ball recounts. The Agassi-Baghdatis US Open encounter of 2006 is one such example early on in the book – one of his most gruelling matches when he was all but ready to hang his racquet up.

But it’s in the lead up to and in the aftermath of that match, that JR [Moehringer]really shines.

Marcos was number 8 in the world, "a kid just entering his prime”, who had made the finals of Oz and the semis at Wimbledon that same year.

Agassi recounts his motivational soliloquy in his second shower of the day (the one he uses for self coaching), reminding himself how amazing it is that a “quasi-cripple can compete at the US Open”.

The journey to Flushing and the various pre-match rituals of massages, racquet-restringing, and practice hits are all described at length.

Gil Reyes dresses like he’s going on “a blind date or for a mob hit”.

We’re not even spared the taping of Agassi’s feet just one hour before the match, a sticky ink like substance used to secure much of it that leaves his foot awash with colour: “My instep hasn’t been ink-free since Reagan was President”.

You do sometimes get the feeling that such curt one-liners aren’t always necessary to convey the intensity of the semi-permanent anguish that goes with both hating tennis and hating to lose; it won’t appeal to everyone and you might sometimes feel you’ve inadvertently strayed into a Raymond Chandler novel.

Stick with it though, and you’ll soon realise that for every “Film Noir” moment there’s one that conveys the unique vulnerability of a former big guy no longer in his prime, such as Agassi’s realisation that the “hot water bravery” (experienced during and after the self-pep-talks of his second shower) is not real bravery at all.

He still has to go out there and down Baghdatis.

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Call that a TV schedule? LA Edition

What's with LA?

No seriously.

For one thing, it's the most charisma-laden tier-two field of psychotic ne'er-do-wells I've seen in a while.

And before your eyes have had a chance to adjust to the luminescence of the awesomeness, they've started winning matches.

Safin, Gulbis, and Baghdatis have all posted impressive wins in the past 48 hours and I'm sure Haas will follow suit as he takes to court opposite wildcard homeboy Jesse Levine.

Noteworthy I think, as the guys they took out (Robby Ginepri, Lu Yen-Hsun and Frank Dancevic respectively) weren't the usual breed of also-rans, you make special time and take special care to ignore.

"Robby is playing really well," the mercurial Russian said. "He is a tough player and it was a well-played match from both of us. I was able to go up a break at the beginning of the second set and that helped me to turn the match around."

(Yahoo! Sports)

Robby, in case you didn't know it, won Indianapolis last week. That may or may not have had a bearing. But in any case, such well-constructed, genteel, debonair analysis from Mr Mercury is a bit like witnessing a rainstorm of frogs and fishes. Just as rare, and maybe a little freakier.

"Now what sort of a Safin post would this be without a pic of him losing his racquet?"
(Photo by Stephen Dunn/Getty Images)

Something in the air?

He might still be on a wave of feel-good comeliness after that reenactment of the 2000 US Open final with Sampras, the organisers thought they'd put on to tickle our senses. Safin came out on top in that one too. Frilly nonsense, but also a lot of fun.

"Pete took the loss with good humour, and took a moment to auction off some of those '14' shirts"

(Photo: AFP)

But what about Ernie's win over Lu? Remember Lu at the Olympics last year? One of only a few players able to hand Andy Murray a straight sets loss during a period that saw Murray rampaging through top ten players like they were ranked outside of the top fifty.

Is Ernie's win also frilly nonsense, or a much anticipated start of something bigger and better? Dude's got a horde of fans worldwide relying on him, locked in a collective global seance aimed at jumpstarting his rise to the top. Don't disappoint'em Ernie.

And what of Baggy's win over Dancevic?

(Photo: Stephen Dunn/Getty Images)

'Baggy' as in Marcos' nickname; not Franks shorts.

That 'look' might have been at the root of Frank's problems. That's dire, that is. That's what comes of an unrestrained love affair with oversized shorts. Which are to gangly legs, what garlic-infused-belches are to witty conversation.

Not to mention the camera angle makes it looks a little like what's left, when Bjorn Borg throws up over Nadia Petrova's wardrobe.

But Dancevic is no slouch (as we all know); in fact, when he's not pratting about in skirts, I'd say he's rather talented. I had him earmarked for much success after first seeing him play in 2007. That it hasn't happened, in no way detracts from the importance of Baggy's win.

The last time I remember watching Marcos, he was being stretchered off court at the Ordina Open in Holland, his face contorted in pain. He's dropped to #146 in the rankings which is simply not on, whether you're a fan of his or not.

But more to the point Marcos, like Ernie and Marat, is that rare blend of charm and organically certified talent. With the US Open Series still in it's early stages, there's rich pickings to be had, and a chance to build up some confidence and much needed ranking points. It's "nice work if you can get it" - and with their gifts, I'd say they should almost certainly try.

Marat takes on Ernie next.

Families around the world have been issued with desensitising goggles, and have been advised to relocate their teenage daughters into one of many specially built bunkers resistant to the awesomeness radiating from LA. Worries persist however, that many may not make it in time and risk not surviving the climactic charisma overload.
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Today's Picks...

My pick of today's matches, which I won't get to see as coverage commences tomorrow:

[5] A Roddick (USA) vs D Junqueira (ARG) - ATP
Junqueira took Gasquet to hell and back at Melbourne this year - I'd like to see how the leaner meaner A-Rod stands up to this abuse.

[WC] M Lopez (ESP) / R Nadal (ESP) vs A Montanes (ESP) / T Robredo (ESP) - ATP
A Spanish conspiracy is underway to make the Bryans work for their ranking, no?

[22] A Chakvetadze (RUS) vs D Hantuchova (SVK) - WTA
Both these players are former top tenners; I prefer Daniela's game but neither has been that convincing recently. Still, be interesting to see where they're at.

[31] P Mathieu (FRA) vs M Baghdatis (CYP) - ATP
Juiciness; Baggy just took out Gulbis in the opening round and I thought he looked very strong at Melbourne. If both players play to the best of their abilities, this one has epic written all over it.

[7] G Simon (FRA) vs [WC] L Hewitt (AUS) - ATP
My pick of the day. For one thing it pits grinder against grinder and will no doubt answer a lot of the following questions: Is Simon a grinder? Is he an aggressive counterpuncher? How effective is he against someone who plays much the same way? What can we expect from Hewitt? How effective can he be against perhaps the only grinder in the top ten? Can he get back into the top 20?

[Q] T Dent (USA) vs [19] N Almagro (ESP) - ATP
Dent is a one time owner of the fastest serve in the world before Greg Rusedski took on that record. I always used to enjoy watching him play before he disappeared off the face of the planet it seemed. Great to see he's making something of a comeback. He's up against one of the best clay courters in the world who's lost much of his fizz since going down to Nadal (for the loss of only three games) at RG last year.

[13] C Wozniacki (DEN) vs [WC] J Dokic (AUS) - WTA
What!? Shouldn't this one be a quarter final?

A Pavlyuchenkova (RUS) vs [11] V Azarenka (BLR) - WTA
The giant killer versus the baseline banshee.

L Safarova (CZE) vs [18] P Schnyder (SUI) - WTA
Safarova was once considered a hot prospect. Then she hooked up with Tomas Berdych and picked up some of his 'winning ways' - you know, the type where you lose all the time.

F Schiavone (ITA) vs [25] A Szavay (HUN) - WTA
You all know how I love Schiavone's personality - makes 125% of her more limited abilities, much like Ferrer. Szavay's been disappointing - in 2007 I picked her, along with Radwanska (Senior) as future top tenners. I was only half right, and now Agnieszka's showing signs of frailty as well.

M Youzhny (RUS) vs [21] T Berdych (CZE) - ATP
Just how does a one time top tenner, a guy who had Nadal on the ropes for a period, drop to number 62 in the world? It all went wrong when he smashed his head in at this very event last year. Maybe he can try and turn it around at the same place.

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Magic and Misadventure in Melbourne pt 2...

Reeshard and his barbaric yawp....

I'd normally use a third round exit as an excuse to unleash yet another diatribe on the many misdemeanours of Gasquet, but even though he didn't come out on top in his five set clash with Gonzo, there was something a little different in the way he conducted himself. I don't actually think he choked quite as badly as he's done in the past, or to put it another way, I think his loss was as much a product of the gruelling nature of the lengthy match (he played a tough four setter against Junqueira too) as any mental failing. I particularly liked the way he saved match point with a low percentage, ripped forehand winner and the very un-Reeshard like primaeval scream he let out afterwards. You're not in Room 101 just yet Reeshard.

Gonzo is looking in extremely fine nick both physically and mentally. I don't think he'll get past Nadal but just may give him the kind of workout Berdych gave Federer or Djoko got at the hands of Baghdatis.

Extra brownie points for Reeshard finding his voice (and heart?) at last.
(Gasquet image by Chris Silva under licence)

Melbourne 05 it was not...

I'd be lying if I said I really believed Safin would progress any further once I saw his name listed alongside a certain Roger Federer in the draw. But I was, as I said hoping for some 'showcase tennis'; and I think we got that - in that last set at least.

I can't really blame anyone for not coming through against Federer when he decides to raise his game that way (the backhand pass and the match point rally that led up to it summed things up very nicely); Safin did almost everything right in that last set: it was a classic case of his best not being good enough.

There's something very promising though about the way he sustained some of those longer rallies in that final set. His forehand normally breaks down in those situations, particularly on the run.

Extra brownie points for the Federer's 'larger than life' tribute to Safin after what may be their last match.

Fedora going five...

I don't know what to make of this. You could say it was a good thing that Federer had a stern test ahead of the quarter finals against an adversary that has troubled him in the past, and not at all out of place in what is likely to be a comparatively less polished phase of his career. A great confidence booster too.

It could also unfortunately be construed as a display of the kind of errant play we saw much of last year and that against a more grounded opponent would cost him more dearly. It's also less than desirable physically. I only caught highlights of this one and by the end Federer was in complete control: Tomas in contrast, was unravelling by the minute.

Extra brownie points for Federer's come back from 2 sets down (when was the last time he had occasion to do that?)

Rafa v Haas...

Another case of your best not being good enough. Haas (one of my fave players, who's never quite recaptured the form of early 07) didn't play a bad match and displayed some of his impeccable timing and touch, particularly at the net. But any match featuring a ratio of 53 winners to 8 UFEs in favour of the eventual victor, suggests some pretty nasty bruises were inflicted.

What to read into this then? I've yet to see evidence of any change in that forehand, and I don't subscribe to the 'sending-out-a-message' theory put forth by his impassioned fanbase.
I suspect Rafa's just being Rafa and enjoying himself out on court.

Extra brownie points for that gargantuan and quite outrageous ratio of winners to UFEs; against what should have been a tricky opponent

Baggy bows out...

Fedora found his test in Berdych and Novak did in Baghdatis. It only went to four sets but Djoko couldn't have been pleased at having to play till 2:30 in the morning.

A little disappointed for Baggy - I thought he had something going there. But also glad I now have conclusive proof that Djoko really has learnt to weave his new stick.

The other Russian Sibling...

I don't know what to say here, except that she's treading a little too close too disaster for my liking. As wonderfully inspiring as that comeback against Cornet was, the fact remains that she should never have put herself in that situation in the first place.

As good a player as Cornet is, she's particularly vulnerable to the imposing nature of Safina's game. Unless I'm mistaken, Cornet has (perhaps in an attempt to counter this) bulked up a little but there still remains a little of the 'startled deer' in her tennis-face, particularly when she gets bossed around by the big girls.

No brownie points Dinara, despite the fascinating comeback...

Jelena bows out...

Too good by half. That's my opinion of Bartoli's form and seems to have been the main reason for Jankovic's demise. As many others have observed, Bartoli was playing the kind of tennis that saw her reach the 2007 Wimbledon final.

Jankovic wasn't at her best but I can excuse her for looking a little befuddled at times in the face of the most ruthless and determined display of tennis I've seen from Bartoli in a long time.

The two-handed strokes on both wings and the ultra-efficient service motion can appear a little perplexing. She generates real flatness in her comparatively shortened back swing and it's not so much the pace that beats you: it just seems a very difficult game to read.

Extra brownie points for Bartoli's groundstrokes that allowed her to outhit probably the best scrambler in Women's Tennis.

Oh Yeah - The Fairytale...

I don't know what to mention about this story that hasn't already been said. But Comeback Girl Dokic (and the tales of all the demons she's had to conquer) has really brought the Women's event alive this year. I really started to take note when she knocked out Wozniacki, whom I thought would be the revelation of the tournament.

I heard today that Damir's announced his intentions to attend the final, should she make it. As Chris Bradnam mentioned today, I don't believe he's quite understood the point she's trying to make.

Brownie Points all over the place...

Honourary mention to Blake and the A-Rod who've crept through the draw quite unseen. Makes you almost not want to watch them...

Similar feelings on Kuznetsova's run - I've yet to see a match of hers too, and should probably keep it that way.

Honourary mention to the French contingent too: I've only caught one of Tsonga's matches and none of Simon's or Monfils. Doesn't it make you feel just a little sorry for Gasquet though?

Not so honourary mention for Ivanovic who despite some spirited play bowed out to 29th seed Kleybanova. As 2Hander says, she's not looking like a top tenner - not one bit.

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Magic and Misadventure in Melbourne...

Lleyton & The Gonz (Not to be confused with the Fonz)

Though I anti-picked him to drop out early, it was a little rough to be drawn against Gonzo in the first round, and Rusty did manage to drag things out to 5 sets which at least shows that the fire isn't quite out. There was however, something very one sided about the sets that Gonzo won, where he seemed to be reeling off winner after winner exposing just how vulnerable Hewitt's game (that serve in particular is perhaps too inviting in an almost "I'll set 'em up, you knock 'em back" kind of way) is in post-Fedora era.

Hewitt did interestingly state his intent to get back into the top ten. It's not impossible (he's not after all that old), and I love the attitude. I just think that the days where you could crack the top ten on spirit alone are long gone.

Extra brownie points for Gonzo's Clinic on forehand winners and returns of serve.

Just WHY is Blake wearing a Collar? (And why's he getting so hot under it?)

Cracking match against Canadian Frank Dancevic - who by the way is my exhibit A for the alarming levels of depth in men's tennis. I first saw him play at the back end of 2007, where ranked around #70 he appeared to have it all and I expected him to rise. He didn't deliver, and has in fact regressed a little (to #123 I think).

There was a slight edge to this match, which wasn't played in entirely good spirits - (anyone know why?) Blake didn't seem to want to think twice about firing a ball directly at Dancevic who just got out of the way in time, but they did shake hands well enough at the end.

But I'll tell you what: I love the slightly more surly and aggressive Blake; he was certainly playing a lot better than he has for months. A new phase in his career maybe? Weird things tend to happen when you turn 30. Not loving the collar one bit though. Blake can get away with most any look: bandanaed, cap (worn both ways), headband, sleeveless or sleeved. But something about the collar or it's fitting is not quite right.

Extra brownie points for Blake's uncharacteristically edgy attitude.

Rafa and Not-Quite-Goliath

Loved the new outfit - but would people stop reading too much into his duffing up of Rochus?
Yes he appeared to be hitting a lot more harder and flatter than he perhaps ever has. (Has the forehand changed?) But would you expect anything less!?

Extra brownie points for Rochus and his smile when he took his first game.

That Fedora Bloke

Not as solid as he could have been against Seppi - though that passing shot was something special (If you don't know the one I mean, go way. Please). But it was no cakewalk either as has been suggested in some quarters. Seppi's no slouch - I've seen him seeded around 31-32 in the past and though Fedora pretty much owns him, he would have troubled most anybody else.

Extra brownie points for - you've guessed it - that passing shot.

Ana "Help - I've forgotten how to serve" Ivanovic

Still stuck in the mire. Still very, very unconvincing. Just why'd it take her so long to take that first set from Brianti (who by the way bears a striking resemblance to to Justine Henin complete with single handed backhand) And don't even get me started on the ball toss. I should say tosses as she's getting a little too close to Time Violation territory with those repeated practice throws. Has she been practising with Dementieva?

Brownie points carried over and may well be awarded to Wozniacki whom she may face in the fourth round. My heady intuition tells me that the Dane will and should come out on top. I hope we get to see this one.

Gasquet v Junqueira

What a work out! A surprisingly tough draw for Reeshard (Junqueira is one of the most successful players on the Challenger Circuit). Gasquet took it in four but the length of most of the rallies as well as the searing heat will have made it feel more like five which unless your name is David Ferrer, you really should try and avoid.

Extra brownie points for Gasquet's well-struck sliced, swinging serve he used to keep at least some of the points short.

Baghdatis v Soderling

Well, well - who would have guessed? Baggy is looking a little like he was in 2006. Not going to get too excited as he was facing a quite limp Soderling, and he had what sounded like half of Cyprus supporting him. But he was displaying exactly the kind of magic that's been strangely absent for, what, 3 years now? The surprising speed and agility and the quick changes of pace and direction that can catch the very best off guard.

Extra brownie points for Robin, who despite the problems with his foot, didn't throw in the towel (and took some unnecessary abuse from some of Baggy's more ill-mannered supporters)

Those Russian Siblings

Well they've made the third round. Haven't been able to see much of Safin but Safina is a little too up and down. She managed to come through in three sets yesterday (a bagel in the last set) but Makarova played a really high quality first set and things could have looked very different if she'd sustained that.
Not gonna say a word on Safin (certainly not gonna get drawn into anything remotely optimistic) except that he's playing Fedora-man in round three and though I don't expect too much from Marat, I'm hoping for at least some showcase tennis. It may be the last time he faces Roger and this match has got brownie points written all over it.

Djoko and his Stick

Nothing much to say here, except to echo 2Hander's observation that Djoko may have begun to find some real form with his new racquet. It's still early days, and like the other members of the top four, he hasn't yet had a real test, but I'm hoping very strongly he continues in this vein - it would add well to the already very intriguing Tales of the Murray-Fedora prickliness (which Djoko wants a piece of by the sounds of it), and Nadal's Newi-sh Forehand.

Brownie points for Novak learning how to play tennis again.

Oh and be sure not to miss Venus' 2nd round encounter with 20 year old Spaniard Carla Suarez Navarro. This girl has a single handed backhand to die for. I caught some of her matches at Roland Garros last year and though the rest of her game has a very under-developed quality that leaves much to be desired, this is a truly Henin-like picturesque stroke that the commentators said is better than Henin's backhand was at 20.

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2008: The Good, The Bad and the Ugly

As 2Hander said in his last post it really has been a strange year for tennis.

In a year that saw what many have called the best Wimbledon Final of all time (myself not included, but more on that some other time) we also witnessed the so called 'humanisation' of Federer, the addition of Safina and Murray to the very top of the game and the shocking premature retirement of Justine Henin - to some a confirmation that the William's Sisters' Schedule of Choice was not actually 'disinterested' or 'distracted' at all, but decidedly (though maybe not calculatedly) spot on. We also, just yesterday saw Spain win the Davis Cup Final without Nadal - a feat which most people (myself included) thought beyond them.

I'm not going to do an in depth review of the year, or analyse players and their performances to bits - I think that's already been covered very well by freakyfrites and dootsiez (that's just the first of three parts) in their informed and very entertaining summaries.

I wanted instead to highlight some moments, which for whatever reason this year, just stuck in my mind. Not all of these played their part in defining the year, in fact you might even think of some choices as non-events. The list does include defining moments, but also contains some of the more offbeat and downright bizarre occurrences which made 2008 what it was.

So here's the first in a series of what I hope will be an interesting set of postings on 2008. See what you make of it.

Sharapova winning the Aussie Open

After returning from a shoulder injury the previous year, she changed her service action and gave us the best match of 2007 in the SEC against Henin.

We knew she was back, but I for one didn't anticipate the way she would tear through the opposition in Melbourne - her route to the final included wins over Dementieva, Henin, Jankovic and Ivanovic: and she didn't drop a set. We all have our views on her shrieks and style of play (I'm not a fan) but she belongs at the very top of the game, and with Henin gone I was a little disappointed her shoulder prevented her from making this her year.
(Sharapova image by The Eternity)

Baghdatis v Hewitt - Aussie Open

I don't know what it is about Australia, but it really does produce some epic encounters, Roddick v El-Enyoui (2003), Safin v Federer (2005) to name a few. Something about the mix of the extreme weather conditions (which saw an extreme heat rule brought in) and the atmosphere of night matches produces both gruelling and quality encounters and this one was no different. The match started at around 11:45pm and went on for 4 hrs and 43 mins. Baghdatis left the court in tears at around 5am. Hewitt rather unsurprisingly went out in straight sets to Djokovic in the next round. Broken men. Both of them. To think that this used to be the 'neglected' Slam...

"As a Grand Slam Champion..."

It was around this time that Djokovic fresh from his win in Melbourne began (with the British Media anyway) the annoying practice of prefixing almost every response to a question from the Press with the phrase "As a Grand Slam Champion...". Here was a man who wanted, perhaps too desperately not just to win on court but also to be well liked off of it. I sort of think Jankovic shares the same complex (see Jelena's US Open speech). Is it really necessary to hug every opponent despite their sometimes very evident reluctance? Should it be surprising his player imitations didn't go down well with everyone? The good thing about Djokovic is he's a very quick learner. Over the course of 2008 and as his star waned, he dropped this and other irritating habits, gradually adopting a more thoughtful, mellow outlook and as regular readers may have observed I've become quite a fan.

Roddick wins Dubai

Federer had already gone out in the first round to some Brit named Andy Murray; I would have paid good money to see Federer play A-Rod in this form.

In what must surely be his finest week of the year, he blitzed through Ferrero, Mathieu, Nadal and Djokovic all in straight sets, only dropping a set to Lopez in the final which Roddick eventually won 6-7(8), 6-4, 6-2.

I really hope Stefanki and perhaps a Sports Psychologist can get to grips with the mindset that enabled this performance. It gives me hope he still has it in him to win at least another Masters Title; I would hate to see him go the way Hewitt has.
(Roddick image by KARIM SAHIB/AFP/Getty Images under licence)

Federer criticises Murray's style of play

First in my series entitled 'How I wish I'd never said that...' - statements that didn't come back and haunt, so much as bite their promulgators in the rear end...

After his shock first round defeat to Murray in Dubai this year, Federer claimed Murray's game 'had not changed much since Thailand 2005', how he 'tends to wait a lot for the mistake from the opponent' and 'stands way far behind the court..' adding how such play would require much grinding over the next few years.

Sour Grapes? Maybe, but I do think it was an accurate depiction of Murray at the time. I thought of Murray then as a talented player with a great future, but not someone who would be at the very top of the game vying for Slams some 5 months later. He wasn't serving anywhere near his potential and wasn't at all aggressive. Anyway as we'll see Federer wasn't the only one to rue his words.
(Federer image by ROMEO GACAD/AFP/Getty Images under licence)

Roddick Settles the Score with Federer in Miami

Nobody beats the A-Rod 12 times in a row. Ok seeing as their head to head is now 15-2 in Federer's favour, maybe 'settles' is a little strong. But I just had to include this in my list: no one else has (ever?) quite so befittingly, stopped the proverbial rot.Roddick went out to Davydenko in the semis, but I think he felt he'd already won...

Davydenko hits a winner - Youznhy hits his head

Two things stood out in Miami: Davydenko's hand skills and blood, quite a lot of it. Let me talk about Davydenko first because its easier to deal with. Up until this watershed performance, Davydenko was for me a first rate player: aggressive, physical, consistent and tenacious. He wasn't at the level of the top three but had proven himself to be worthy of his top 5 position. He had but one failing: he avoided the net like the plague. In a series of matches in Miami and particularly in the final against Nadal, Kolya showed such touch and execution at the net that it led Pete Fleming (commentating for Sky at the time) to exclaim: "WHO IS THIS GUY!?"

I'll return to Youzhny in my next post - stay tuned...

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