Shanghai: So What Have We Learnt, Gentlemen?

 

1) Just what is Rafa so pumped about?

 

Being Rafa of course. Silly question.

 

(Reuters)

 

If the Asian Swing really is a “swing”, then Rafa’s the kid that always takes things too far by pushing your 7 year-old self so high up, you end up crying.

 

I don’t suppose I’ll ever completely understand why playing these piddly events means so much to a guy that’s just written history. But then isn’t that exactly what Rafa’s all about? Barely stopping short of non-metaphorical cartwheels after beating a qualifier in round two of an ATP 500 event? Don’t ever change.

 

I might be wrong about this, but it’s almost as though he’s relishing the feeling of being able to play with the total abandon that must arise from being, a) injury free and b) able, therefore, to deliver his level best on a surface not traditionally considered “his bag”.

 

What all this means is that he’s got “nothing to lose” in the truest sense of the phrase: not in the way, say, Oscar Hernandez might have “nothing to lose” when he takes to court against Fed; not even in terms of ranking points (virtually none to defend until next year).

 

Perhaps this might be the best chance his career ever offers him of winning the WTF - the one title that eludes him. God knows what will happen if he wins in Aus.

 

Needless to say, this is both hugely problematic and profoundly dispiriting news for the rest of the tour.

 

I’d be be doing cartwheels too.

 

2) How good is Djoko’s Calculus?

 

If tennis was A-Level Maths, then  Djoko just went through a point of inflexion at Flushing.

 

 (getty)

 

I don’t think for a minute that he’ll repeat those highs right away, but I really don’t want to believe that was just a one off .

 

Personally I think it’s perfectly natural to have a slight dip in trajectory after such a defining performance before readjusting to a renewed sense of your self worth.

 

But he does SO need a good showing here: he’s got all those points to defend in Paris.

 

3) How much can ‘The Cone’ help Fed to “get it together”? “Get what together”, exactly?

 

In some ways, Fed’s in the same kind of “what now” transition Djoko is. The difference being that whilst Djoko’s Flushing performance was a step up from the way he’d been playing of late, Fed’s is more business as usual - which means that he’s mostly kept it together and (perhaps more importantly) hasn’t had any real WTF results (Baggy/IW perhaps the oddest loss, and yet take a look at what he had to say).

 

 (Reuters)

 

That gusto totalling of Sod in the gustiest conditions we’ve seen this year was as good as anything we’ve seen since the final of Melbourne (if not better given the wind).

 

I realise this will go down as one of his two worst Slam years since 2003, but it’s worth noting that it required three career-defining performances from top ranked players to bring that about – not something he’ll want to see repeated, but not nearly the catastrophe suggested by the column space devoted to doom-mongery.

 

Worth also mentioning that whilst I think input from the Cone will be invaluable over the coming months, I stand by my original assertion that his role will be (and should be) more about quietly nudging Fed back into reoccupying that mental space that wins Slams - renewing that sense of confidence that he can, indeed, beat everyone, dominate even the way he says he can (telling, that he chose  “dominate anyone” over “everyone” – not even he would claim to be able to dominate the way he did in 06-07).

 

Less important will be the need to “come to the net”, “to mix things up”, or any one of the manifold tired technical enhancements being touted as this years “silver bullet” solution to his “problems” (if you can call them that).

 

The tour moves on, players develop new weapons, so it is, of course, critical to keep your finger on the pulse and to understand how best to refashion a gameplan to respond to that.

 

It’s one thing to say that “Rafa has a beefier serve now, so I need to be ready for that”.

 

Or that “Djoko is clearly returning more fearlessly from the back of the court - I definitely ought to be prepared for that”.

 

Or that “Muzz is undergoing something of a career-tailspin, in a bit of a funk right now, so maybe I can bully him a little and profit from that”.

And yet, I can’t help feeling that a player like Fed, or indeed Rafa is less about mere technicalities, than they are about their formidable presence and belief: the belief that they really are, naturally, a superior order of being on the tennis court – in, of course, the most inoffensive way imaginable.

 

4) Where’d it all go wrong for Muzz?

 

*Grits teeth*

 

I want to say good things - hopeful things. It’s just that they don’t seem to accord with the narrative right now.

 

 (getty)

 

It wasn’t so much that he went out to Wawa at Flushing – it was the miserable, vacuous way in which he did. And there weren’t even any answers forthcoming from the post-mortem.

 

I didn’t follow Beijing very much but from what I gather, things weren’t considerably different against Ljuby.

 

Can you do us all a favour and appoint a coach already? A Coach-shaped cut out will suffice until you find a real one – something, anything to direct all all those death stares and verbal refuse at.

 

For one thing, I really don’t think he’s the “going it alone” type.

 

What was perhaps most concerning about the Flushing loss was the lack of any real diagnostics in it’s aftermath – Muzz was at a loss to explain his lack of energy and even went on to say he “might never win a Slam”.

 

Nothing hugely irresponsible about that – even the top players are more likely not to win a Slam than they are whenever they enter one. But being in the top four since 2008 and one of the esteemed few that has a winning record against Fed and Djoko and a not too blemished one against Rafa either, you’d think he’d have a less instinctive measure of his own self worth – though perhaps not, given that that presser was given less than an hour after the match.

 

In any case, get on to it Muzz, and soon. I have this horrible vision of you being drawn to play Phillip Kohlschreiber in the not too distant future with no one in your box and Miles Maclagan in his.

 

I agree: let’s not go there.

 

5) And the Others?

 

» I’m trying not to read too much into Sod’s loss to Fed at Flushing.

 

The wind was wreaking havoc, Fed was playing his best tennis of the year – looking back at it now, it was never really going to happen.

 

But I have to raise an eyebrow when Sod goes down in straights to Daveed Ferrer.

 

There’s also the uncomfortable fact that despite his recent success over Rafa and Fed – he’s now lost to both of them in their most recent respective Slam encounters.

 

 AP

 

» Davydenko: Remember him? Actually defending points here and, of course, at the WTF next month.

 

» Too early to diss Berd very much. A first round exit at Flushing is certainly a shocker – though it’s worth remembering how very new it all is to him. If he flames out early here or in Paris, or at the London WTF (assuming he qualifies), we’ll talk.

 

» Don’t expect too much from Delpo until the middle of next year. And then maybe only after that. But you already knew that.

 

» ARod is infected with the passive, top-ten, grinderman bug -- that had hitherto plagued only Novak – until further notice. I almost think less of myself for not expecting very much from him in what’s left of this year.

 

» Daveed Ferrer is  a top ten player – I keep having to remind myself of that. Don’t expect him to give anything less than his insolent, blue-collar, overachieving best to make the most of it.

 

» Mikhail Youzhny has a shot at end of season glory of some kind – and should by rights be made president, of something.

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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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Wimbledon: Buzz-About-Muzz

 

PA

 

The Andy Murray column. No really.

 

The first year I played in the juniors [of Wimbledon] I was 14 or 15 and I lost in the first round for the first two years, I never did well here as a junior, but the record as a senior has been a bit better.

It's a lot nicer for me now that I actually live nearby. When I played here the first couple of years I was in hotels, and the year when I'd just started working with Mark Petchey as my coach at Queen's I actually stayed at his house.

 

Heart goes out to you. I wouldn’t wish that on anyone.

 

Lloydy thinks his attitude needs looking at. He also thinks Querrey’s the only guy in his draw that can “hurt him” and that he should have beaten TBerd at RG. Erm, Ok then.

 

For the record I don’t feel the same buzz-about-Muzz I did last year.

 

I don’t even feel the same buzz about Wimbledon as I did last year.

 

Part of this is down to Fed’s very blah draw.

 

Part of it is down to Muzz and Djoko still being in a funk.

 

Part of it is down to Delpo likely being out until well after Flushing. I had a theory about him on grass.

 

A lot of it, however,  is about neither Big Rob nor Kolya having made it past the 4th round even though in principle they should be successful playing tennis in sand dunes if necessary.

 

All that might change, however:

 

» should England go out of the World Cup. As if the Queen showing up wasn’t pressure enough.

 

» should Muzz be seen using an Official Adidas World Cup Jabulani Match ball in his football-tennis warm ups. I wouldn’t recommend it. Robert Green wouldn’t either.

 

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Why that’s an outrage!

 

 

-- Roger Federer seeded #1 at Wimbledon.

 

Scandalous I know. Why anyone in their right mind would want to confer a #1 seeding on a guy that’s won 6 of the last 7 titles here and had a complete stranglehold on the #1 ranking during that time is beyond me.

 

Never underestimate the audacious logic espoused by Neanderthals in sufficiently high numbers.

 

By the amount of hot air this issue has generated you’d almost think that Fed had received a bye to the final.

 

For better or worse, Wimby has for many years now, chosen to distinguish itself through use of a seeding formula that rewards grass court prowess.

 

You can, indeed,  argue that seedings for a surface that exposes the utter uniformity of the majority of hard court players and the unique adaptive ability of a select few, should, in some way, reflect that distinction - a distinction I’d be prepared to extend to clay.

 

You can argue that Venus Williams ought to be seeded #1.

 

You can even argue that Nikolay Davydenko should be seeded outside of the top 50.

 

Of course you can choose to bin all of that, and argue, instead, that it’d be perfectly valid for Wimbledon to simply mirror the rankings the way the other Slams do.

 

And that’d be fine too.

 

Once you choose to go with the formula, however, continuing to argue in favour of your favourite player on the basis of a H2H begins to make you look petty, paltry and confused.

 

Verdict: There’s clutching at straws and there’s clutching at toothpicks. Not an outrage.

 

-- #342 ranked Brit, James Ward went out of the QFs of Eastbourne today

 

To reach that point he put out both Feli and Scheuttler. Back to back.

 

You’d think such an audacious feat on home turf would be enough to earn him a wildcard at Wimbledon.

 

The LTA’s top 250 cut off point (for affording WCs) and an illness at the end of last year that saw him drop out of that range (a position he’d previously held for 18 months) means you’d be wrong.

 

All of which has put us in the slightly laughable position of not having a single English player in the Wimbledon draw - a historical first, though hardly the kind of history to aspire for.

 

I understand the LTA are focused on “creating an environment where more British players aren't just in the first round because of a wild card, but on merit…”.

 

I also understand their position is a little “damned if you do damned if you don’t”.

 

How often, after all, have we seen them burnt at the stake for a spate of first round losses from “undeserving” Brits that were afforded WCs?

 

I don’t, however, understand the sheer lack of imagination that sees The-Powers-That-Be doggedly stick to “policy” and artificial cut off points at the expense of a fine BRITISH run of form.

 

What precise “metric” do you need to tell you that a Brit getting to, say, the third round of Wimbledon would represent a fine thing for British Tennis?

 

Verdict: Not simply an outrage. A scandal.

 

-- Thomas Muster. Comeback. 42. No really.

 

Verdict: Not an outrage. Simply outrageous. And yet I’m keen to see how this plays out.

 

-- SUI(24) d. ESP(2) 1-0

 

 

The equivalent of say Stan Wawrinka knocking out Rafael Nadal.

 

Verdict: Outrageous. On every imaginable level. And some unimaginable ones too. And yet I believe it would have played out rather differently on clay.

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Indian Wells Drying Out.

As Arid as a Desert.

Or very nearly so. We do still (supposedly in the case of Fed) have our top four male players – after which levels of precipitation really do begin to dry up.

Delpo’s wrist is still in rehab, ditto Davy (though he’s still apparently scheduled to play) and Gonzo, as expected, has signed up to the Chilean Relief effort, which btw you can donate to here and here.

He’s also looking to arrange a “Hit for Chile” held sometime around Miami.

Chilean tennis player Fernando González is making efforts to play against Spanish Rafael Nadal and Switzerland Roger Federer to raise funds in benefit of Chile earthquake victims.

Gonzalez made contact with both players, as published by the Chilean newspaper El Mercurio. In addition, the athlete is heading a campaign to help those affected by Chile’s earthquake measuring a magnitude of 8.8 º in the Richter scale and the ensuing tsunami.

The Chilean did not participate in Indian Wells Master in order to help his country in the midst of this terrible tragedy and he hopes that both Federer and Nadal can join this crusade that would benefit many people in great need right now.

The games, according to Gonzalez’s plans, would be disputed in the vicinity of the Miami Masters.

Momento24

Tennis seems to me to be in a wonderful place right now – but it also seems appropriate to ask why we’ve not seen something of this magnitude in the past.

Ever since ‘Hit for Haiti’, the tennis ether has been infused with something altogether more agreeable - fashioning a climate in which one rather expects to find such spiritually attuned efforts to reach out, to be more commonplace.

Plate-tectonics has undoubtedly had something to do with that.

But suddenly it becomes a whole lot easier to organise a second ‘Hit for Haiti’, featuring the most intimidating line up of illustrious personages outside of Madame Tussauds.

Both Gonzo and Fed, must be applauded for proactively raising the profile of the recent devastation, that might have otherwise only received the most meagre of coverage within tennis circles.

You’d think the powers that be, might have readily seized upon the opportunity to stage such events themselves, without having to be prevailed upon by it’s most influential players.

Haas, in the meantime, has been sidelined for as long as six months having had to undergo a hip operation – bad news whichever way you look at it but particularly injurious to the remaining career of a 31 year old.

Did I mention that rules him out of IW too?

Perhaps even more jarring to the German ear, would be the news that he’s recently picked up American citizenship, which a) makes him the current American #2, b) makes him eligible for the US Davis Cup team as soon as September of this year – which by his own account is not a prospect he’s displeased with.

Having lived in Bradenton, Florida for two decades, one might understand why he feels such an itch – I can’t help feeling however that the news may be less well received “back home” (wherever that is these days).

It doesn’t get much better in the women’s draw – with Safina still struggling with that back of hers and the Williamses ensuring their regular quota of unpaid leave falls squarely within the next two weeks.

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Oz Withdrawal Symptoms: Extrication Complete.

It took a while in getting there, but I think I’m ready to move on.

With Warped-Pete’s blessings.

ABM AMRO Rotterdam: Soderling d. Youzhny 6-4 2-0 (Ret.)

(Photo: Getty)

This title had Davy, Djoko or Big Rob written all over it.

Hard indoor ones tend to have the Swede’s name etched in a little more deeply – exactly the kind of event suited to his flatter-than-flat hard boiled style of play, and one he really should bag if we are to treat his top-ten maverick status very seriously.

Besides, what better way to snap out of that heady stupor he’s been in since the beginning of the year?

And so it played out – with Big Rob mostly keeping things simple (as if his game could be anything else), and with Davy and Djoko both falling in the semis and reassuming their lovingly-tended spots in the playground of ‘nearly-man’ tennis.

Except this was a 500 event. Where the nearly-men are supposed to go to town.

Maybe that’s a tad harsh to Davy, but with Djoko looking as 0ut of sorts as he did opposite Youhzny, one wonders what remedy if any will effect a turnaround, or whether that Serbian shooting star really has shot it’s last.

I tend towards believing it’s been shot down. And you know who I hold culpable? Marat Safin.

Cast your minds back two years - deep in the inner most recesses of those tennis-heads of yours lies embedded a memory, one which I like to think of as Marat’s Last Stand.

In 2008 Safin wowed his way to his last ever Slam semi-final at Wimbledon. Perhaps the greatest story of 2008 – second only to that greatest-of-all-finals itself.

His fans, tennis aficionados, and the rest of the world waited for, wished for good things to follow. In vain as it turned out.

But there was another story too. One that’s mostly been relegated to a footnote in history, if that.

For the Djoko that emerged from that punishing three set 2nd round loss displayed an almost dismembered look, one that I put down at the time to being ridden over roughshod by the Mighty Hippo.

Marat may have breathed what turned out to be his last gasp that year, but with it too he appeared to extinguish Djoko’s only remaining flame.

He has never regained that glint in his eye.

Gone was the cocky free-swinger and in his place stood an inhibited, austere, risk-averse, neurotic ‘Grinderman’, intent on reinventing himself as a clay courter.

That part of his post-‘Safinated’ agenda at least, remains intact.

In the eighteen or so months that have followed that psychosomatic shakedown, only two hard court Masters titles have been forthcoming, though it’s on clay that he appears to have retained at least some afterglow of his pre-Safinated self, the most notable example of which being that semi-final at Madrid last year.

I have no idea why exactly this is – in the same period he’s reached a further four hard court Masters finals, though in neither of which he displayed a shadow of the confidence that was so inextricably a part of what for the time being remains his only Slam title.

But consider this: if the experience has left him more of a force on clay, then Marat might very well be considered the architect of Federman’s revival.

Confused?

I was. At first.

I’m following a lengthy, loosely connected, slightly indulgent, and not entirely water-tight train of thought here – I must ask that you bear with me.

Whether or not you fully care for the creature Djoko’s morphed into, and whether or not you fully agree with the direction he’s headed in, he remains – perhaps by virtue of that grind -- for the time being at least, a force on clay.

Had he not been taken to the cleaners by Marat, he might never have evolved into Grinderman.

Had Djoko not seen fit to undergo this transfigurement, we might very well never have had that Madrid semi.

And if we didn’t have that maddeningly delicious Madrid semi, Nadal may have made the final only fractionally as exhausted as he turned out to be.

You follow?

Three setters are as ruthless as they are unforgiving affairs – where the slightest lapse in concentration, a single break can decide the course of a match.

Suppose Fed didn’t win Madrid, would he still have entered Roland Garros the energised figure we are told to believe he was?

Would Rafa still have lost?

Would Fed have still have served his way to number fifteen, on the back of 55 aces?

I would still say yes to those last two. But I would also say that there’s a ‘house-that-Jack-built’, in there somewhere.

This is the legacy that Roger built.

This is the GOAT that sat atop the legacy that Roger built.

Madrid is the event that freed the GOAT,

That sat atop the legacy that Roger built.

This is the bull, a step too slow,

That found Madrid a step too far,

Thus freeing the GOAT,

That sat atop the legacy that Roger built.

This is the grind that stirred-up the clay,

That irked the bull, a step too slow,

That found Madrid a step too far,

Thus freeing the GOAT,

That sat atop the legacy that Roger built.

This is the kid, that would be King,

That took to grind that stirred-up the clay,

That irked the bull, a step too slow,

That found Madrid a step too far,

Thus freeing the GOAT,

That sat atop the legacy that Roger built.

This is the match that Marat played,

That swept the kid, that would be King,

That took to grind stirring up the clay,

That irked the bull, a step too slow,

That found Madrid a step too far,

Thus freeing the GOAT,

That sat atop the legacy that Roger built.

Honorary mention to Mikhail, who truly earnt his final spot, despite some lackadaisical play from Djoko.

This week’s Dutch Master: Big Rob

This week’s Wooden Clogs: Davy, Djoko

In other news….

Open GDF Suez Paris: Dementieva d. Safarova 6-7, 6-1, 6-4

(Photo: AP)

What, another tier two title Elena?

I was more interested by the way Safarova came into this. Quite the most confident exhibition of ‘line and length’ from her in around 3 years.

Except not very many players do line’n length as well as Elena.

Pattaya Open Thailand: Zvonareva d. Tanasugarn 6-4 6-4

Brasil Open Costa do Sauipe: Ferrero d. Kubot 6-1 6-0

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2Hander's Take: AO Aftermath

I would like to start by reintroducing myself. Why? Well, I have noticed over the past year or so that the readership of this blog has grown (probably no thanks to me and my rants!) and I have been, at best, a passive reader during my absence.


Where do I start? For those who know me, I've been away from posting largely due to my mother being ill in hospital. She had a long history of heart and chest related problems. Judging by my use of the past tense, you'd be right in assuming that she is no longer with us. She sadly passed away a few months ago after quite a long stint in hospital. It's weird, but the rollercoaster that this whole episode was seems like it was ages ago, when it wasn't. At times, it has been hard trying to get (and remain!) focussed. I am OK though. The term moving on for me is more like a helical spring-shaped path as opposed to a simple straight line. Losing a loved one, well, feelings come and go as time goes by. Time does heal a great deal and I am thankful for what and whom I do have.


So, in a way, tennis does help to keep me (somewhat) sane – all the more thanks to you guys.


Now, for those who may be thinking: "Who the hell is this guy?!" and/or "Where the heck did he come from?!", I am an old friend and sometimes tennis partner of our beloved friend Topspin. We have been talking about tennis like quasi-pundits for around 10-12 years, back when we were in our early 20s (Woops! Have I just given away our ages?! HAHA!!). Top gave me the honour of being a guest poster on this fine blog and you will find that I am far more shamelessly opinionated and certain things (like the [crap] state of British tennis) wind me up something chronic. However, I like to think I am a malleable sort of chap who can be persuaded to see and sometimes take on different perspectives to issues around The Beautiful Game – no, not the one where 20-22 people are running around trying to kick an overglorified pig's bladder through a metal rectangle!

(Though I am a football fan as well, just nowhere near as much)


This Aussie Open…I paid more attention to the 'business end', i.e. the second week and it seemed to be lacking a certain something. Yes, it had the crazy epic duels early on in the first week, the odd upset (Delpo's early exit), dark horses (Cilic) and yes, Federer played a very good tournament and all that. However, I can't help but feel that tennis has come full circle since 2007, when Federer dominated like something crazy. I'm sure he is older and wiser, especially being a dad now – his life must have a lot more perspective now and he seems to be playing much more freely. He got the GOAT, as well, although not against Nadal at any point along the way but through no fault of his own. Anyway, he has nothing to prove and I think most people would be inclined to agree. I do think that had he won last year in that 5-set epic with Nadal, it may have been more fulfilling, probably because it would have silenced a lot of critics. I must add that his volleying has lost quite a lot of its edge, especially in the final. I think Tsonga may be the best volleyer around today, as he more willingly comes to the net.


I am also saddened by Nadal's status quo at the mo. All I can say is that I hope he gets back to full fitness soon and we get to see him flourish and achieve even more. He's too nice a guy to not wish him well. Though I am sure he's learnt his lesson and not enter 500 clay court tournaments in any given year!


Djokovic has matured in terms of his attitude off court as well as his game. Just take a look at how awkward he felt when asked to do an impression of Nadal (in front of him as well!) at a presentation ceremony (was it at Rome?). He seems just as lethal off both wings and, oh yeah, he has changed attire from Adidas to Sergio Tacchini (Are they back now? What about Ellesse?).


Murray really looked as though he was ready for his maiden Slam. His game has come on leaps and bounds, although he needs to improve his 1st serve percentage. His second serve is better now than it was at the last Wimby, it has to be said. Like Roger said, his time will surely come soon. And he's also switched clothing from Fred Perry to Adidas…


I still think there is another Slam or so left in A-Rod…though I will not commit to anything by saying when and where it might come.


I reckon Delpo will bounce back from this early setback. Being tall, he can slap any loopy forehands Nadal can throw at him, as he did in Flushing Meadow. He has also exorcised the demon posed by Fed.


Nando Verdasco…I just want to slap him for losing against Davydenko! Not so much for losing against him because Kolya has improved, it's more the manner in which he lost. I still think Davy lacks the flair it takes to win a Slam, maybe he'll prove me wrong. We'll not talk about that set he took of Fed because even I probably could have taken that set off him!


So yeah, things have changed, but maybe we've just been given a brief flashback of how things used to be. You know, Federer just finishing matches at will, even in Slams. In the grand scheme of things, the field has opened up, with at least 4-5 realistic Grand Slam contenders. The next few months will definitely be very interesting…


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Melbourne: Failed Deliveries & Grand ‘Slums’

Federer d. Davydenko 2-6 6-3 6-0 7-5

Alas, a match that promised us so very much, one that should actually have been given top billing in a night session (someone mind telling me how that happened?), but nevertheless failed to live up to our justifiably bloated expectations.

(Photo: Press Association)

This should have been billed as ‘Vintage Fed’ v ‘Post-Modern Davy’.

Except there was nothing vintage about it. Not unless vintage refers to Fed shanking his sets away, or a predilection for his opponents to wilt away in the assumed glare of his awesomeness.

Instead we were graced with four mind-numbingly routine sets of tennis, that wouldn’t have looked out of place in 2007.

Don’t let that first set fool you.

Davy only got off to ‘good’ start because Fed pulled off one of his infamous disappearing acts that sees him arrive somewhere in the middle of act two.

It didn’t take very long for Davy’s ‘form’ to be exposed for what it was: a facade masquerading as competence.

Don’t let’s pretend Davy’s form even partially resembled anything from London or Doha, just because it was one barely detectable notch above that horrendous outing him and Nando paved the way with 48 hours ago.

Nor for that matter was Fed’s form anything to write home about.

What, another four setter where he edges past Davy without playing his best tennis? So 2007.

You know Davy’s on when he’s able to string points together and take aim for (and hit) the lines. None of which took place until, at 2-3 down in that fourth set Davy broke back and we finally saw something of the type of play from both men, that should have featured in all four sets.

It lasted all of three games.

Li Na d. V. Williams 2-6 7-6 7-5

I’m still reeling from how bad this one was.

Or whether I hate V’s play more than her dress which, let’s be honest, leaves so very little to the imagination.

A match that left such an unbearable taste in my mouth, it led me to coin an award in it’s honour.

Congratulations Li Na and Venus Williams – joint winners of the ‘Grand Slum’ – awarded at each Slam to the poorest match played by the highest seeds left standing in the second week.

S. Williams d. Azarenka 4-6 7-6 6-2

Serena saves the day - and herself, in a monumental turnaround (from a set and 4-0 down) that’s being rightfully hailed as one of the best of her career.

Little sorry for Vika who was reduced to wondering (in vain) what she could do, having already produced her best tennis and seen it being made to look like an ineffectual mess.

Tsonga d. Djokovic 7-6 6-7 1-6 6-3 6-1

I’ve often thought that the grunt Djoko gives off when serving sounds a little too similar to him puking his guts out.

Last night, leading 2 sets to 1, he actually puked his guts out.

When he returned, he was devoid of almost all the intensity that had enabled him to reach this point.

Great win for Tsonga, though props due to Djoko too for not taking the easy option of pulling out of a match he had no chance of winning.

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Melbourne: “Mr PlodStation”

Davydenko d. Verdasco 6-2 7-5 4-6 6-7 6-3

A pretty crummy performance from Davy if you ask me.

(Photo: Reuters)

“Mr Playstation” is no more, or has regressed temporarily into a ZX Spectrum.

There was nothing ‘high’ or ‘radiant’ about the highlights reel I saw, with both players struggling to keep the ball in court and Dasco gaffing his way to 81 UFEs.

He raised his game by one barely detectable notch in that final set, but one wonders if Davy would have made the finish line had Dasco displayed just a little more belief.

Loyalties aside, would we really want him to win his first Slam playing like this?

I can only hope this is something of a blip - he’ll be lucky to get a set off Federer playing this way.

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Melbourne: Days 4 & 5 – “Shock Infested” Swamps

So it all happened out there yesterday.

It was hot, it was muggy and some of the play looked to have been extricated from a swamp.

Petrova d. Clijsters 6-0, 6-1

A shocker, but perhaps also something of required reality check. Cupcake Kim she’s most certainly no more, but even the most ardent of her fans would concede she’s not immune to the odd bad day at the office.

Perhaps more interesting was the the way she dealt with it in the presser:

"It sucks," she said. "I was completely off. She was good but I made all the mistakes and she didn't really have to do much. She served really well and was aggressive in the rallies, but that's because I let her play. It sucks that it has to happen at this stage of this tournament. If it happens in another tournament, then you can say: 'OK, it's not a big deal, just keep working hard.' Matches like this happen maybe once a year.

"You just try to stay calm because there were points where I really wanted to break my racket into pieces, but that's not going to help either, so you really just try to stay positive. At some points I was just happy I was hitting a ball in. That's how bad it was."

The Guardian

Yowza, Yowza, Yowza!

Kimmie 2.0 has very much arrived – with not a cupcake in sight.

She’s picked up on court largely where she left off after her first Slam, but it’s off court that the real transformation has taken place.

Kimmie 2.0 is a darker, more edgy figure, with a more Hingis-like, caustic world view of her opponents. She's also more comfortable using words like ‘suck’.

The rest of the year suddenly got more interesting.

Bondarenko d. Jankovic 6-2 6-3

First things first.

What on earth is going on with Jelena’s serve?

There seems to be a viral marketing campaign currently doing the rounds in women’s locker rooms, that like any properly constructed sales pitch, is disturbingly effective in signing up consumers for stuff they don’t need.

Jelena’s first serve was a liability………back in 2007.

It was never going to assume B-52 proportions but since then I did think she successfully fashioned it into something more competent, something she might use to do more with than simply start the point.

I’d put up a clip except I had my first run-in with Tennis Australia who insisted I take down those two Henin clips from my last post (You know you’ve arrived on YouTube when that happens for the first time, though whether a 50 second tennis clip actually infringes copyright or should come under what most would consider ‘fair use’ remains open for debate).

For now I’ll attempt to describe it as best I can.

From the peacock-like head cocking, to the bending of the knees to an angle so acute, you’d think she needs the type of knee protection Moto Rally GP drivers are routinely issued with.

The pay off for such excessive re-architecting? Darned if I can see it.

She may even have regressed.

As for the rest of her game, it’s not entirely in tatters – but a visit to the drapers wouldn’t go amiss.

What little rhythm she did manage to create, was quickly quashed by Bondarenko who I’m sure has come on leaps and bounds since the last time I saw her.

Sign me up as a fan.

Kuznetsova d. Kerber 3-6 7-5 6-4

Sveta left it all out on court in round two. It was smooth, it was dreamy and as always when she’s on song, so cruel it was cute – Pavlyuchenkova didn’t know what had hit her, with no idea how to respond even once she did.

I was even deluded into believing she might have taken that next vital step up to becoming comfortable in her skin as a two time Slam Champion.

She must have left it all out on court – because last night, there was nothing left.

She made Kerber look as good as she did, by letting loose a total of 43 UFEs (peanuts compared to Shaza’s first round outage, I know) – shoot anyone that tries to convince you otherwise.

This one should have been over in 1:25, instead it lasted over two hours.

Maybe starting after the Nadal match at 12am had something to do with it.

Champions sometimes have a stinker in the first week – but are conditioned into putting it behind them and playing their subsequent matches with such panache, you sometimes think they were undergoing necessary detox.

I’d like to think it’s that way with Sveta – except I’ve been wrong so many times.

Safina d. Baltacha 6-1 6-2

Brits have been busy celebrating the first time two women have reached the second round of a Slam outside of Wimbledon since 1992.

But Dinara poured hot tar over all of that yesterday - just like she has been in all her matches so far.

The difference in class was all too evident.

I’m rather liking the look of Safina’s groundies since the beginning of the event.

That serve however...

Henin d. Kleybanova 3-6 6-4 6-2

Justine dropped a set and has picked up a leg inflammation – no doubt from all those hours spent 'comparing notes' with Elena on court – could she be the next big story with a flat ending?

Nadal d. Kohlschreiber 6-4 6-2 2-6 7-5

Oh the unqualified joy of seeing the ‘Declinist’ position on Rafa’s game, being sequestered in it’s proper place.

I have no idea whether or not Rafa will go all the way – at this point I’d say that’s not all that likely, nor for that matter as important as the question of whether his play resembles something like that of Pre Wimby 2009: It does.

If there’s one thing Kohlschreiber deals in, it’s BIG-UPSET tennis.

This might just have gone the same way as his match with A-Rod did two years back, if Phillip didn’t run out of gas somewhere near the beginning of the fourth set.

We were all waiting to see Rafa go up against credible opposition, and Phillip might just have been the tonic with which to put a seal on Rafa’s revival.

The confidence very evident in the way he shunted back a once-in-a-career wide angled backhand winner that was so far out of court he had to go round the net post.

Yeah that’s what comes of not being able to post up YouTube clips anymore. Boo.

Cilic d. Wawrinka 4-6 6-4 6-3 6-2

This one had five set bruiser written all over it.

I didn’t get to see it – but it’s kind of the result I expected.

Stanislas has been all at sea since Wimbledon last year, a period that’s coincided rather nicely with Marin’s upward march.

Marin is “the new Delpo” according to some – a view I would almost share were it not for the fact that their styles of play are a little like oil and water.

But there’s no doubting Marin is the best placed to have a Delpo like breakthrough year.

Somewhat befitting then, he should be playing “Mr Breakthroughs-are-so-2009” himself, in the next round.

A match that could go either way if you believe there’s anything behind that wrist injury Delpo came into the event with.

***

I didn’t catch very much of the action from day four.

I’ll try and be quick.

Davydenko d. Marchenko 6-3 6-3 6-0

Kolya’s the man of moment right now, and something tells me this is different from the surge Nalbie experienced at the end of 2007. One that was promptly extinguished in Oz the following year (nice to have you back Daveed, almost).

I’m still not confident of him going all the way, but Davy looks awfully close to embracing at least some of the attention that goes along with taking out the best two players on the planet at consecutive events; he definitely has a different look about him this year – one that was in full show yesterday against poor old Marchenko , who to his credit didn’t play a poor match.

The top ten is sometimes a dark, murky place; full of untold misery for any hapless intruder unfortunate enough to blunder into the wrong party (remember Fed performing live vivisection on Delpo last year?), and Davy is currently it’s arch-executioner.

I do so want him to go all the way, but will for now be content with the knowledge that seeing him face off against Fed in the quarters might turn out to be every bit as good as the Rafa/Sod encounter we won’t now get to see.

Federer d. Hanescu 6-2 6-3 6-2

Normal service ‘resumptionalised’. For the time being.

Djokovic d. Chiudinelli 3-6 6-1 6-1 6-3

Having not seen any of Djoko’s matches so far, I’m not entirely sure where he is (yeah, that old chestnut). I’d like to think he’s been bolstered by that win in Paris last year.

Until I see him face off against Tsonga, Haas or Youzhny, who all lurk menacingly in his quarter of the draw however, I can’t be completely certain of that.

Not crazy about the “Hell’s Angel meets Kung-Fu Fighting” edition Sergio Tacchini have kitted him out with either. Though it’s far more preferable to the incoherent slather of colour Murray’s been daubed with. Especially beneath those ‘pits’.

V. Williams d. Bammer 6-2 7-5

This time last year I was highly optimistic of Queen V’s chances of fixing that gaping hole on her CV, by winning her first Slam on a blue surface since the early Noughties.

This year I saw nothing leading into the event that would suggest that’s even a remote possibility.

Dulko d. Ivanovic 6-7 7-5 6-4

It’s becoming difficult to avoid at least considering the possibility that Ana’s set to go the same way as Vaidisova, and understanding the root of her problems sometimes feels like a niche Philosophy.

I’m not about to embark on either.

There were some good signs in her play, but not very many, and more disturbingly an action that almost suggests she’s made her peace with wonky service tosses – they seem to have fused themselves into her game so stealthily, she’s now more inclined to adapt to an errant ball toss than she is to continue to try and work it out of her game.

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Up and Running…

As great as ‘Open’ is, it’s just occurred to me that there’s little over a week before Oz gets under way, and to tell you the truth I’m a little behind some of the storylines that have emerged in the first ten days of the tenties (please tell me we can do better than that for something we’ll be stuck with for the next ten years and beyond).

So let me make good on that right now.

(Photo: AP)

I don’t normally have a whole lot of time for exhos, but Abu Dhabi (only in it’s second year) has already shown a knack for getting the very best to play at their very best – all with not a single ranking point in sight.

It’s not all altruistic of course (there’s a reason we call these things cash cows), but the environment of an exho sometimes feels like a strange behavioural study into the effects of playing for pride.

When it’s done right, the results can be very positive indeed.

Muscles are flexed. New weapons developed in the off season get to be ground-tested in a contained environment. You also, and here’s where I think Abu Dhabi’s positioning on New Year’s Day really comes into it’s own, get to send out a message at the beginning of the season, and just two weeks before Oz.

True, nothing sets you up for a season of tennis down under, like a lively but mostly carefree little exho – but whereas in the past they might only have been considered one rather makeshift step above a practice session, the players nowadays seem to place a lot more stock in playing for pride.

And just in case you were still in need of any convincing, they signed up both Rafa and the Sod to really liven things up (presumably without telling either of them who else is invited). How cute.

Rafa, as we all know picked up the title, but the bigger story for the few remaining enclaves of Soderling fans out there (we know not our true numbers, living our precarious scattered existences mostly as creatures of the night), was his 13th-time-lucky outage of Roger Federer.

Yes it’s a mistake to read too much into an exho; and considering what happened in Kooyong 2007, I’m guessing A-Rod fans still regularly convene for Wicker-Man-like May Day sacrifices where items of memorabilia gathered from the bomb site that was Melbourne 2007 and hastily assembled Federer effigies are set ablaze.

But when the score reads as close as 6-7 (6-8) 7-6 (7-1) 6-2, it’s a little difficult to argue that they weren’t both invested or that Robin shouldn’t take any encouragement from the win. I certainly intend to.

Soderling was unable to follow up against Rafa in the final, but their handshake at the end of it was as civil as I’ve ever seen. Let’s be having no more of that Gentlemen – I expect a full return to unmitigated hostility by the end of the month.

As for Fed, taken by itself Big Rob’s win over him is of little consequence. Viewed alongside Davy’s second consecutive win over him however, it could mean everything and nothing; there’s been signs since last year (as great as it was) that that great Swiss ship of his might not be as tightly run as it once was: that whatever greatness he’s still capable of will find itself nestled amongst shorter periods of rampant mediocrity.

That might not necessarily be a bad thing. Whatever philosophical position you choose to take on whether it’s increased competition or Fed’s own regression behind the state of near parity that seems to exist amongst the top 5 (almost as great a debate as nature v. nurture), I almost think it might be in his interest if he, you know, checked out every once in a while.

Such a managed setback might actually turn out to have a shorter lifespan than one of the unplanned variety, like he experienced in between Oz and Madrid last year.

Even if he continues to play at the height of his powers however, I don’t believe the occasional shock, like he just suffered in Doha, should be so very shocking.

Davydenko d. Federer 6-4 6-4

At least not against players as adept as Davy.

"Before I lost 12 times in a row to Federer, but because I beat him in London I felt like I really could win," Davydenko said.

"I still had the level I had in London, and that was good - but I don't know how long I can keep it up."

BBC

Davy’s going to have to drop the awkward social graces, this uneasiness under the the limelight, if he’s to step up as a serious contender at any Slam.

But even if he talked a better game, I’d be a lot more confident about his quest to fashion something between a silk purse and the sow’s ear that is currently his H2H with Federer, were he to defeat him in a Slam; there’s certainly no other reason he ought not to make at least the final of a Slam: outside of Fed, there’s not a single player in the top five (or beyond) he can’t beat.

The only thing that might (somewhat paradoxically) come in between him and his quiet quest for glory, is his own fitness. When he was in the top 5 for all those many years, he wasn’t perhaps as finely developed at the net as he is now and didn’t serve half as well, but his fitness was off the charts. The result? Four QFs and four Semis at the Slams. Scored during an era of alleged lesser competition.

(Photo: Getty)

Since Miami 2008, we’ve seen a more versatile though no less Playstation-like Davy, capable of ghosting in to the net with that scythed put-away of his and serving with more confidence and variety. He has however, only made a single QF.

Part of this has been down to injuries, and as I see it, a period of natural adjustment to his new found well-rounded prowess. But he’s also seemed less enthusiastic at the prospect of lengthy five setters – so long the staple of his stay in the top ten.

Davydenko d. Nadal 0-6 7-6 (10-8) 6-4

Davy overpowering Nadal on a hard court ought to surprise precisely no one.

But what happened in that first set? After just the first few games, he looked so worked over that I actually took off.

When I returned they were embroiled in a third set with Davy 5-4 up and serving for the match.

"In this tournament I came back to play my best tennis for a long time," Nadal said.

"I lost today but he played unbelievable tennis - he was just better."

BBC

I would focus on that first sentence – we all know Davy is on an all time high right now and I actually think he’s the better player on a hard court.

But here’s the thing: Nadal wasn’t actually injured during that poor spell he had at the end of last year, merely out of sorts and not at all match fit.

That’s not generally a worrying state of affairs where he’s concerned. It would be more concerning had he turned up injured with those bands of tape beneath his knees, and insistent about playing through all sorts of pain like some puerile rite of passage.

Rediscovering his confidence in an uninjured state is something he’s actually rather good at.

Not that I think he’ll defend his title in Oz; for now I’ll content myself that he’s attempting to draw more upon that flatter breed of hit he fashioned in London and that he’s put a dampener on the ravings of those galoots that continue to insist his career is winding down.

It’s not necessary to say too much on the happenings in Brisbane; while not all of us might have been convinced it would happen so soon, I doubt anyone out there thought Henin would be unable to rise quickly above the rest of the field, and assume her rightful place alongside the Williamses and the rest of the Pre-Safinite Sisterhood.

Early on it looked like Kimmie was set to run away with the match with a sustained bout of metronomic play we usually associate with Davydenko.

And so it more or less continued until she quite carelessly allowed Justine back into the match during the latter part of the second set.

(Photo: AFP/Getty Images)

But I still believe the right woman won. I’m not sure a win for Henin would be quite the right result to usher in this new Post-Safinite age of hopefully more ordered tennis.

And while we’re on the subject, I don’t know that that there’s anything significantly different with the look or feel of Justines new-fangled service motion.

While it’s competent enough, there’s nothing like the revamp (either in pace or first serve percentage) we were promised. Maybe we’ll get to see it in Oz.

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