Showing posts with label Australian Open. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Australian Open. Show all posts

Friday, 1 February 2013

Victoria Azarenka and *that* timeout


By now you'll have read the pieces chastising, excoriating or otherwise pouring scorn on Vika and her infamous MTO-that-was-completely-within-the-rules-and-not-without-precedent.



You'll have read all the incensed calls for her disqualification, the cries of 'bushleague' and variously coloured J'accuses of a system that allows for such MTOs.

And you'll likely also have read the many pieces at least appearing to cede to the demands of impartiality/balance by highlighting the triumph of her will and nerve in exceptionally difficult circumstances whilst continuing to use the same emotive language about a MTO-that-was-completely-within-the-rules-and-not-without-precedent.

You'll probably also have read the pieces that are a little less severe in tone, perhaps even garnering some sympathy for her but nonetheless proclaiming that some kind of tipping point has been reached and that something ought to be done.

You may even have read the Economist piece that actually attempted to grapple with the complexities of that "something"- without, to its credit, piling on anyone - though come away feeling that its slightly prosaic, academic handling of the issue hadn't actually solved very much, and, well, what business it was of the Economist anyway.

Having had some time to reflect you'd probably have concluded that it wasn't really the Economist's fault. That it was well within the stylistic remit of a column entitled 'Game Theory' to come up with a somewhat dry, detached piece that read more like a business proposal, within which the principal actors are referred to as 'Mr' and 'Ms'. And that the cost/benefit analysis of applying various restrictions to MTOs-that-are-completely-within-the-rules-and-not-without-precedent had essentially proven the point that no one solution would appease or satisfy everyone (or indeed anyone).

If you were inclined to be at all fair at this point, you might accept that Vika had bought at least some of this on herself. That by electing to take a MTO-that-was-completely-within-the-rules-and-not-without-precedent at such a conspicuous moment she had after all violated the spirit of the game.

You may even have conceded that there was such a prevalence of this sort of thing on tour that whatever she might have said afterwards it was probably fair to assume that she could have lasted another game and was simply looking to break the hoodoo by getting off court.

In which case, you'd still be left wondering why her MTO-that-was-completely-within-the-rules-and-not-without-precedent was being subjected to such unique scrutiny.

Why neither Novak, Janko, Rafa, Mary Pierce and countless other players, though much vilified for doing much the same, have never had to endure anything quite like Vika's post match presser in which barely a single question was raised about the particulars of the match and which felt more akin to an interrogation.

And whether such a good-cop-bad-cop interrogation was even appropriate for a MTO-that-was-completely-within-the-rules-and-not-without-precedent; or whether it, and not the latter, was in fact 'bushleague'.

You would probably also have thought that it was Vika's own clumsy handling of the incident that had, in part, escalated things to this level. That her (right) answers to questions not actually put to her by Sam Smith and the multiple clarifications and damage control she engaged in afterwards had actually made things worse.

You might also have felt that, whatever else the case, Vika does need to come to better terms with the press who, much like an MTO-that-is-completely-within-the-rules-and-not-without-precedent, are very much part of the scenery, and though far from perfect, do also offer certain very tangible benefits to someone in her position.



Of course, many people didn't think she was being clumsy or inaccurate. They seemed to find it much easier to believe that she was admitting to a) choking (true), b) taking an MTO for choking (not true), and c) cheating or something far worse (both counterproductive and highly unlikely).

They didn't seem to think it was at all relevant or important that Sam Smith's questions were both ambiguous and vague, and that English isn't, after all, Vika's mother tongue.

Or that she may not have come out expecting to be questioned about a MTO-that-was-completely-within-the-rules-and-not-without-precedent, and as a result answered a question she only assumed she had heard.

You might, in any case, have thought it very evident that she plainly wasn't answering the questions Smith had posed, and found it most odd, therefore, that this should be lost on trained professionals that regard English as their mother-tongue; people well-versed in both the art of writing and the conducting of interviews, who might, by virtue of their trade, reasonably be expected to have an above average grasp of comprehension, but who, instead, mistakenly saw this as an unmistakeable confession of cheating.

You may even have thought that her answer to the wrong question was less a function of how the question was put - and that were it even to be put with absolute clarity, and were Vika to speak the Queen's English, that this was simply something that players do from time to time. And that if you had cast your mind back just 24 hours prior, to Federer's match against Tsonga, you might remember Roger making much the same mistake: speaking at length to Jim Courier on how he'd performed early on in a set without once referencing the breaker that had preceded it - in response to a question about precisely that breaker and nothing more.

You may also have thought that it isn't that surprising that a player should make such an error in the immediate aftermath of a match, and how in different circumstances other players might have been given the benefit of the doubt, but that Victoria Azarenka under these circumstances almost certainly wouldn't.

Of course if you were more generous you may have actually believed her story about a locked rib and the breathing trouble it was causing her.

You might also have wondered just how many people that were panning her had even experienced a panic attack (or even knew what one was), much less tried to play GS tennis through it.

You might, in any case, have thought that once the medics who appraised her during the MTO-that-was-completely-within-the-rules-and-not-without-precedent had confirmed her side of the story, and the tournament director had satisfied himself that there really was nothing either peculiar nor remiss about the affair, that that ought to have been the end of it.

And that perhaps the fact that that wasn't the end of it had something to do with her a) playing a darling of the American (and much of the international) media, b) being a woman and c) being Victoria Azarenka; that this maybe wouldn't be happening if even one of those were untrue.

And that elevating it to the level of a global scandal with a somewhat misogynistic edge to it, in the same week that tennis continues to feel the reverberations of the biggest drugs scandal sport has ever seen, wasn't perhaps the most proportionate or helpful way of dealing with the fallout.

You might, in other words, have thought that Victoria Azarenka has a lot to answer for, but that all of that is far worse.

(Image: Telegraph)

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Monday, 30 January 2012

Oz: ‘I’d be Lying’



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Djokovic d. Nadal 57 64 62 67 75

I want to say that this was the best match ever. But I’d be lying.

I want to say duration always maps to quality. But I’d be lying.

I want to say Rafa didn't have his chances and that Nole was simply too good. But I'd be lying.

I want to say that Nole is Rafa’s “kryptonite” against which Rafa supposedly has "no weapons". But I’d be lying.


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I want to say Rafa played this with the same brand of daring intensity that he exhibited against Federer. But I'd be lying.

I want to say that Federer won't be smarting over this, and that he shouldn't feel short changed at not getting a crack at Nole. But I'd be lying.

I want to say that I'm completely convinced it wouldn’t have been any different had it been Federer, and not Rafa, at the other end. But I'd be lying.

I want to say that Rafa's soul won't be crushed by the worst loss of his career and that he'll snap out of it in little over a week. But I'd be lying.


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That said...

I could say that the longest match in GS history was purely about the inability/unwillingness to finish off a point. And nothing to do with guts, endurance or heroism. But, here too,  I would be lying.

I could say that Nole doesn't deserve credit for taking his chances the way Rafa seemed unable/unwilling to under that kind of relentless and unforgiving pressure. But I would be lying (it's why he, and not Rafa, is world #1).

I could say that Nole doesn't deserve all manner of accolades for learning how to manage and regulate his energy levels to see this thing through. But I would  be lying.

I could say that I don't want to tar and feather those tacky enough to be talking of "faking" at a time like this. But I would be lying. You clearly don't understand sport; and sport wants nothing whatsoever to do with you.


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I could say that the heroic battle of will that ensued in the  final set didn't transcend any pedantic concerns I might have had about “quality” and letting things get this far. But I would be lying.

I could say that Murray hasn't come a long way and that it's a crying shame that Lendl hasn't managed to do more with him in just one week. But I would  be lying.

I could say that Nole only has the most fleeting of chances at completing the Calendar Grand Slam by beating Rafa at RG. But I would be lying.

I could say that this wasn't #goodfortennis, that a marathon like this didn't hold appeal for both fans and non-tennisheads; that tennis, ultimately, didn't win today.

But, there too, I would be lying.

(Pics: Getty)

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Oz: Slamless #1’s are so 2011…





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Azarenka d. Sharapova 63 60

Whatever tangential, slamless universe opened up in the immediate aftermath of Henin’s first retirement (and locked  out quite admirably for a year by Serena) is no more.

1) Four first time GS winners. Based on this, you either believe the WTA is flat-lining, or you welcome in the new faces and perhaps even hope to usher in a new age. I choose the latter.

2) Juju gone. Kim gone by end of year. Difficult (sadly) to know how much more we can expect from Venus. And Serena will face the occasional upset (last 2 slams attest to this). Perhaps the guards have been altered. But if Serena soundly spanks everyone at Wimbledon we'll be forced to change at least one of them right back again.

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3) I make no secret of my affection for Vika. She's roguish, she's impudent and sometimes downright garish. And, yes, some of that still needs looking at.

4) She’s also uncompromisingly real – the uncontrived cowboy of the WTA, who gives 110% every time. It’s plainly disingenuous to harp on about the former without once mentioning the latter.

5) Besides, if she was really as bad as all that, she’d have reacted quite abominably to the spate of bad luck she's had over the years.

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6) Heat troubles, injuries, quite atrocious draws (ending mostly with Serena Williams)....it's been quite a journey. A lesser spirit would have faded into obsolescence quite timidly.

7) Instead, she works hard at her fitness and game, and wins her first GS playing something at her best (and with uncharacteristic variety) at a venue which, given her susceptibilities, may as well have been the surface of the sun.  

8) A triumph that included a win over Kim. A triumph that bagged her the #1 ranking. Yes, I checked and rechecked....and every box has been ticked.


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9) Pova clearly has her troubles, but if anyone claims she's not a genuine GS contender after her second final in just seven months, they're lying.

10) The way she held up against Petra in particular (who was ferociously/religiously teeing off on every second, and even some of her first serves) in that final set was truly inspired – my nominee for women's match of the event.

11) Spare a thought for Woz. On second thoughts don't – she's savvy enough and thick skinned enough to know where she's falling short and that a #4 ranking is about right.

12) For what it's worth I still think Petra is the best player on the planet right now.


(Pics: Getty)
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Wednesday, 25 January 2012

Oz: The Non-Bracketology Post.






It’s happened.

Nole has been drawn against Murray. Fed will play Rafa in the semis of a Slam for the first time since RG 2005.


Q1

Q2

Q3

Q4

Nole Murray Delpo Berd
Ferrer Kei Federer Rafa

Q1

Q2

Q3

Q4

Woz Vika Maka Errani
Kim Aga Pova Petra

 

Legend

Hoity-Toity

Upwardly-Mobile

Sympathy Vote

Ideas above their station

Stacked


Let me guess, the counter-conspiracy theory goes something like this: Oz are merely performing an elaborate tap-dance, so we might lower our guard to all that nasty draw-rigging that regularly goes on at every Slam. There’s even Maths involved.

Whatever. But this is weird – Vika comes into this 1) uninjured and otherwise healthy, 2) having won an event just this weekend 3)  drawn as far from Serena as is geometrically and humanely possible.

Anyone that’s followed Vika’s GS career knows that this is akin to jellyfish  discovering a colony of unicorns on Mars. Knowing her luck it’s probably best to wait and see exactly how it plays out.

610x (2)

Other bits and bobs: 

1) Murray goes through Ryan,Ernie, Gael and Tsonga before even getting a crack at Nole. In as much as there is a short straw, I’d say he drew it.

2)  Tomic/Fer (R1)..…just, AHAHAHAHA. 

3)  Pova/Dulko (R1)….NOT FUNNY….NOT COOL


4)  Maria goes through Dulko, Sveta/Sabine and Serena before even getting a crack at Petra….so short it barely qualifies as a straw. 

5)  The Chak is back! 

6)  Other than a R16 encounter with Milos (which sounds completely groovy), can’t imagine Nole will have much trouble making the semis. 

7)  I’d like Fed/Delpo to be the QF blockbuster some are hoping for….Delpo just doesn’t seem quite there yet. 

8) Not to be unkind, but Rafa’s section is full of has-beens. There’s a small chance the likes of Nalbie nabs a set off him but that’s it. 

9) Would be nice to see Grigor make something of his life…at some point. Especially after interviews like this. 

10) LRob has just qualified to play JJ in R1. She almost squeezed a set from Maria last year. I’m not predicting an upset, but it should be colourful. More than anything involving JJ usually is.  

11)  Kim/Li R16….When was the last time two current Grand Slam Champions played each other this early???? 

12) Difficult to know what to expect from Woz right now –  I can see her getting through her early rounds, although I can also see Lucie upsetting her…maybe even in straights. Hope she survives – kinda want to see her go through Kim. It will be a big big Mountain Gorilla off her back. 

13)  Marion aside, Petra’s draw is kinda cake-walky (sorry Sam). As is always the case with Petra, this has absolutely no bearing on her chances of winning or losing ANYTHING.

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Potential Early Round Mashups:

MURRAY/RYAN (R1), Troicki/Gael (R3),  Dolgo/Tomic (R3), Grigor/Baggy (R3), Rafa/Young (R3)

Lucie/JJ (R3), Kim/Dani (R3), Vika/Watson (R1), Flavia/Peng (R3), Fran/Julia (R3), Bepa/Kanepi (R3), Domi/Serena (R3), Sabine/Sveta (R3), POVA/DULKO (R1), Sam/Nadia (R3), Marion/Zheng (R3), Pavs/Ana (R3), Kiri/Petra (R3)

Maybe it’s just me, but are WTA third rounds usually this stacked?


R4 meet’n not-greets:

(ATP) Nole/Milos, Janko/Ferrer, Murray/Gael, Fed/Dolgo, Rafa/Nalb
(WTA) Woz/JJ, KIM/LI, Vika/Peng, Fran/Aga, Bepa/Serena, Pova/Sveta, Sam/Marion


QF drive-bys:

(ATP): Nole/Ferrer, Murray/Tsonga, Delpo/Fed, Berd/Rafa
(WTA): Woz/Kim, Vika/Fran, Serena/Pova. Marion/Petra


Oh yeah. And that small matter of Petra/Serena facing off in the semis.




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Monday, 23 January 2012

Oz: Magnificent.






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Djokovic d. Hewitt 61 63 46 63

There’s those who “leave it all out there on court”. There’s those that “don’t know when to stop”. There’s the sensationalist  lunacy that lies beyond that. And then (and only then) there’s Lleyton Hewitt.

Bernard, Donald and Ryan better have been bloody watching.


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Even the seagulls got involved.

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Goodnight you irrepressible, foolhardy and quite ridiculous Creature of the Night.


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It's ok. You can admit to welling up a little. Or more than a little.

I know I did.

(Pics: Getty)

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Oz: Define “upset”




Kanepi,Bepa,….Serena Williams?


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Makarova d. Williams 62 63

Not the first time Maka's sprung this shit. Oh sorry, "upset". Won’t be the last either.

Don't mean to suggest Serena wasn't laughably below par (she was) and I won't pretend Maka can hang with either her or the likes of Kim; but if there's a vulnerability to be exploited (as there was today), an upset to be sprung, forged or otherwise effected, Maka will be on it.

She seems to have an incredible knack for that sort of thing. Many don't. Just saying.


(Pics: Getty)

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Sunday, 22 January 2012

Oz: Ode to Lleyton….a night to rememborize.





8b6a481444119aee967fab668df01407-getty-508332823 
Hewitt d. Raonic 46 63 76 63


Let the record reflect Raonic is a good egg. Measured and competent both on and off court. Proof that you need neither overwrought showmanship to make people like you, nor brattish confidence tricks to make things happen.

But his lack of experience showed today (not having ever played on RLA before can’t have helped either).

Not that he doesn’t have time on his side.

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But tonight (and it always seems to be a night) belongs to the Rust. 




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…and to his fratty, Balboa Troubadours.


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Exactly the kind of match Milos needed to win.

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But I just don’t know how you don’t root for the (181st ranked) guy that set the benchmark for “(counter)punching above your weight” for over a decade, in what may be his last appearance here.


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He’s not everyone’s cup of tea….

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The ride’s sometimes been bumpy….


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And at times, downright garish….


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But his efforts have never commanded anything other than ABSOLUTE RESPECT. (Not as common as you’d think in an era of confidence tricksters, cry-babies and injury timeouts that are just….timeouts)


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And I just can’t get past those four hip ops over four years.


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He even lobbed Milos on MP. ALL 6’5 OF HIM. Yeah, lobbing gangloids is a thing now. All the cool kids are doing it.




A week ago, he was a forgotten relic on my tagcloud…..


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Now he’s in R4 of his home Slam.



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Heckuva run O polarising one…..




















610x (1)

record scratch (mp3)



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Friday, 20 January 2012

Oz: Kind of a big deal, no?



ap-201201141951714790663 kimclijsters_2698029_

Quite simply the biggest R4 match up you’ll likely see at any Slam this year.

No really. When was the last time two reigning Grand Slam Champions met this early at any Slam?

I’ve not been able to find out. Seems to me this is kind of a big deal.

Anyone?

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Oz: Don’t Jurrrdge Me.



Sorry people, but as obnoxious as the the whole Henin-like challenge-fakeout thing was (and it was), Bernard continues to interest me.

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He’s clearly cemented his murky hobgoblin nature in the minds of most with this latest, incredibly silly stunt (probably fair), but the hobgoblin has GAME. And I just….can’t not take notice of it (same holds true for Dolgo).

Whilst it’s true the incident taints his win (and wasn’t really necessary), it’s also true the match was five sets long.

I’m not suggesting turning a blind eye but, just as with Nouni’s blunder only a couple of days ago (which many have sadly sought to dress up as something more insidious than a blunder), we’re missing a trick if we distil those five sets into just one incident of juvenile delinquency.

The fact is, however flamboyant and adorable Dolgo’s brand of ‘kooky’ might be, he simply doesn’t have the type of patience Bernie (love him or loathe him; loathe mostly) brings in spades, particularly in longer rallies. And I think that bore itself out over five sets.

All the same, I’m glad a match that promised so very much went the full five sets. And if that still leaves you feeling miffed, know that Fed will probably vanquish him (and avenge all you Dolgo fans) in straights. At least I think he will (God help us all from the interplanetary bratGasm if he doesn’t).


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Let’s also not forget, Dolgo’s not dead, and lives to…..do whatever it is he does another day.


(Pics: Getty)

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Wednesday, 18 January 2012

Oz: Day Three Drive By





1) Let’s be clear about this. I like Kader. And I like Daveed. None of that is likely to change very much.

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Isner d. Nalbandian 4-6 6-3 2-6 7-6 10-8

Kader made a dud call by not allowing David to challenge. And David was right to feel hard done by that. An ignominious end to what sounded, otherwise, like a sensational match.

But I’ll never not be suspicious of those that attempt to explain away entire losses on the basis of one incident – it’s the goto-play of the desperate. Kader could have been Alves-like in his ump-misdemeanours, and it still wouldn’t change the fact that tennis was being played both before and after that incident.

Also, we’re questioning Daveed’s charm? On the day Mardy went “Lardy” (again) and Baggy obliterated 4 racquets?? For feeling hard done by a call that even Nouni probably now admits was a shocker??

 



Magnificent.


2) It’s not news to anyone that Rafa should beat Haas in straights, but am I alone in thinking he should have been made to play this one without pummelling more than two shots in succession high into the veteran’s single-handed backhand? Where have we seen that before?

Seems only fair. And a little more inspired.

3) Lleyton/ARod last (last) on RLA??

Seems to me we ought to know better by now than to schedule either one of Lleyton or Baghdatis in a night match.

The matches don’t always promise to be gripping and there’s practically ZERO chances of them finishing before brekkie the following day. We hold these truths to be self-evident, but for some reason they’re especially true of Melbourne.

I’m not convinced ARod has it in him to go the distance quite like he once did (nor, for that matter, does Lleyton), but if it does, expect more common sense and less delinquency than you’ll find in Gael v Bellucci. Also a night match.


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4) You may think grunting is a non-issue (it is), you may point to the fact that the players don’t seem to mind (they couldn’t care less) but I do have a lot of time for the viewpoint (Wertheim’s, amongst others) that says it becomes an issue once it begins “alienating its core clientele”……that would be the fans.

But those Neanderthals?? Mimicking Vika in the stands today? Not part of that clientele. Trust me, our sport’s not in crisis because some stoned pot-bellies (that probably only watch tennis for 2 weeks each year) decided to make a day of it.

Consider them alienated.

(Pics: Getty)

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Tuesday, 17 January 2012

Oz: “He just does…”




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Andy Murray d. Ryan Harrison 4-6 6-3 6-4 6-2

Will never fail to crack me up how circumspect tennis writing suddenly becomes when trying to explain the mechanics of how Murray actually won a match. #HeJustDoes

Most don’t even try. And you really can’t blame them.

Go ahead and experiment: pick your favourite three outlets and see if you come out of it any more informed or demystified. YOU CANNOT. NOBODY CAN.  PERHAPS NOT EVEN MURRAY (Tignor, to his credit does, at least, try).


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Maybe that’s what’s bothering him



(Pics: Getty)
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Monday, 16 January 2012

Oz: The Artful Dodger



kimclijsters_2698029

 


Q.  Was there any time in the match when his body language showed you something that you focused on?

BERNARD TOMIC:  Um, yeah, in the third set.  He thought  I had a feeling he knew I was going to go away.  I eased off, as well, I think on purpose.  I eased off and seemed I didn't care, and I think that's what drawed him a little bit tonight.  He thought he was going to win that third set, and when the right time came, I broke him. 

You know, after that the third set, you know, he started getting a little bit tight and not hitting his shots.

Q.  So you set him up a little bit?

BERNARD TOMIC:  In that third set, yeah.  I knew if I lifted my game early, he would have lifted as well and he wouldn't have let go.  I pretended a little bit in the first few games in that third set to not be there as mentally, but in a way to still be there.  


Ya know, I’m not quite so sure he’s pulled off the confidence trick he thinks he has. 

It doesn’t surprise me to learn that he tried to pull it off (it happens on tour all the time), and not to say that it didn’t influence things, but Dasco, honey, you did this to yourself, all by yourself.

To be fair to Fer, he did mention he was affected by the heat – his undoing was at least as much a function of that as anything else. But, ultimately, the whole rope-a-dope thing (as a form of mental fakeout ) seems to me to be selling Bernard quite short.  If he’s rope-a-doping anyone (and he is) it’s because of his style of play, not because he’s pretending to be on the ropes.

His pre-match smack talk re Dasco’s BH (“can’t really hurt me”) may have been derided as childish – it also happened to be spot on. And, from what I saw of the highlights, going deep to that wing seemed to work a treat.

Reminder: Dolgo/Bernie (R3)…..if ‘kooks’ are your thing.

(Pic: Getty)

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Monday, 31 January 2011

Oz: Triumph & Disaster

 

 

Venn2

 

 

Depending on whether you think of Murray as a brilliant tactician, too passive for his own good, too grumpy for his own good (or indeed, all three), and on your tennis philosophy in general, you’ll regard his membership of all the above groups as being “in good company” or the worst of all possible worlds.

 

 

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My own view:

 

Set 1) So close you could smell the BO. Just like your fellow bystander on London Underground.

 

And just like London Underground, people responded to it with either Monday-Morning grouchiness, snoozing in the hope of waking up to better things, forbearance in the face of a necessary evil, or a mixture of amusement and incredulity at not knowing where it was headed and at it not AT ALL feeling like  a GS final.

 

I started off agreeing: lengthy, no-pace rallies that were less about craft and rather more to do with no one wanting (or being able) to pull the trigger were hardly the stuff GS finals.

 

At a certain point though, it simply became snark for the sake of snark. And not particularly inventive snark.

 

murray2

 

How many times have we seen a raucous high-intensity semi followed up by a Fedal castration of a finalist crippled by “the aura” and the sense of occasion? Is that meant to be preferable?

 

Listening to some of the comments, you’d think two juniors had turned up.

 

This was simply a different look of tennis, it was closely fought and when the break came at 4-4 it was to prove decisive. Nole was playing too well not to take his chances.

 

 

Set 2) A complete disaster. Scorched earth and the end of life as we and Andy knew it.

 

I’m talking apocalyptic carnage. Twisted, knotted metal and the musty smell of singed hair hanging heavily in the air. Perhaps even the odd flesh-craving zombie wandering about.

 

djokomuzz

 

Almost redundant having a discussion about how “passive play” might have ruined his chances (it did and we should be having that discussion even though it’s all been said many times over).

 

Far more relevant, I feel, is how badly Murray reacted to going 2-0 down. Playing two or even three dud games in the middle of a match is dangerous but strikingly common even from the likes of Fed. What distinguishes “the better man(or woman)” is in their acceptance of poor form and how confidently they weather out the storm.

 

My guy didn’t react so well: 2 swiftly became 3, which in turn rapidly haemorrhaged into 4 and, before we know it, he  was  5-0 down and we were having all those sorry-ass discussions about “poor body language” again.

 

As with their initial breakthroughs, Djoko appears to have been the first to mature in this respect too. Their results tell no other story.

 

Set 3) The fight back (or something like it) begins. And ends very quickly.

 

It wasn’t quite “too little too late” – some of the best tennis of the match was played in this set – but Nole was, by now, comfortably in his element and playing the type of tennis that saw off Fed and made him the best player in the draw.

 

djoko

 

The forehand with all the depth and bite that has been AWOL for over two years; the serve, so often recently blighted by either a change of equipment or an irritatingly hysterical javelin-throwers action, now a goto weapon of choice to dig him out of trouble.

 

Then there’s the movement. And in this, he’s in a class by himself. It’s certainly not as effortless as Fed, and I really don’t know whether it makes him the best defender in the game – no want of contenders there in any case.

 

Though where I think Djoko distinguishes himself is in his agility and flexibility. No one, but no one, twists and contorts his hips and back the way he does. Combined with his speed, it means he’s able to dig himself out of all sorts of impossible jams, (usually when he’s being run ragged on the baseline), work his way back into points after being stretched out impossibly wide, switch defence into offence in the blink of an eye and end up winning a rally he had no right to even be part of.

 

I remember it back in 2007 when he first broke through – what’s different now is a slightly heavier more developed body and a markedly more mature tennis brain which manifests itself as nuance in the most unlikely, underrated, low-profile of places.

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Oz: History vs. Destiny

 

 

For my part, I thought the way Li Na played the final was a mirror of the way she played her semi final versus Caro….but just like the mirror everything appeared inverted.

 

kim1

 

She started off rip-roaring well and seemed to be up a set before my eyes had adjusted to the morning light (8am on a Sat morning…a little understanding, please) – not that different to the way she closed out Caro.

 

Kim, all the while, seemed thrown off, jittery, confused.

 

And then midway through the second set – just two or three games away from the biggest win of her life and actually making history – Li started to give way. Not all at once, but with subtlety, piece by piece, layer by layer, it all unravelled leaving a completely different flavour of match.

 

Most of the dysfunction began with her volleying – or to be clear her drive-volleying.

 

To be fair, I actually think Li volleys, not completely adeptly, but well enough. And she’s at her best when she doesn’t think. She said so herself. That probably flies in the face of convention  – but it seems to work for her.

 

a66685cefe7c84007b32165630b2170b-getty-topshots-tennis-open-aus

 

Which makes it all the more surprising, that she seemed almost to be overthinking some of those drive-volleys: it got to the point where you’d find yourself pleading for her to put away a conventional volley badly, rather than her preferred drive-volley right back in the path of Kim who didn’t need a second invite.

 

No secret it’s not the result I was looking for (certainly not the bigger story), but is on some level at least, the right result.

 

Kim came into the event being touted the favourite (rightly). And once it all began, was, like Djokovic, the best player in the draw.

 

Within minutes of her win, there was talk of her already being halfway to a Rafa-Slam (far be it for them to be dissuaded by inconvenient facts like that not actually having happened yet) – talk which I’m finding all rather difficult.

 

Leaving aside the fact that neither of the Williamses are done just yet, for all her gifts, Kim is still prone to inexplicable episodes of jitteriness – it was there in a lesser form this fortnight with seemingly spontaneous mini-streaks of double faults and UFEs. Not all that sure that translates to winning 7 out of 7 matches on either grass or clay – not her most effective surfaces as the best of times.

 

Earlier in the week, she signalled this might be her last full year on tour: that doesn’t give her many more chances.

 

For now however, she’s rightfully (Serena’s injury not withstanding) considered the best player on the planet and will, in all likelihood, capture the #1 ranking at some point this year.

 

Something tells me that might be enough for her.

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Saturday, 29 January 2011

Oz: Noticeboard (Day fourteen)

 

us_propaganda-21

 

With Henin, Pova,Venus, Vika and Sveta out, and Franny maimed and limping into the quarters, it's fair to say things haven’t quite gone to plan.

 

I’ve disbanded my dysfunctional prayer circle of heretics, deviants and delinquents in favour of a War Room and realigned myself around Fran, Bepa, Li and Petra.

 

Muzz for the men.

 

Desperate times call for desperate measures.

 

We can still do it.

 

Q1

Q2

Q3

Q4

Ferru

Muzz

Djoko

 

Fed

Q1

Q2

Q3

Q4

Woz LiNa Kim Bepa

 

LEGEND

Top Guns

Hot Stuff

Young & Restless

Sympathy Vote

 

PICK OF THE DAY

 

 

Rod Laver Hisense MCA

11am

 

 

     
 

 

7:30pm

Andy Murray(GBR)[5]
vs.
Novak Djokovic(SRB)[3]

 

 

 
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Friday, 28 January 2011

Oz: Destiny

 

1 day…..20 hrs…….32 mins…….43 seconds.

 

THAT……is when this Slam……..will end.

 

500full-donnie-darko-poster

 

126 matches of professional tennis, most of which you won’t ever see, can’t ever prove were even played out, and for all you know probably only existed in a transient tangential Donnie-Darko type corrective universe.

 

One that will cease to exist the second after Li Na and Andy Murray fulfil their destiny.

 

I never did get round to blogging that Li/Caro match. It made for difficult viewing. It also made for incredibly inspiring viewing once Li came alive in the closing moments of that 2nd set.

 

lina1

 

Li’s groundies are dynamite. Technically perfect dynamite.  Caro still struggles to keep the ball in court on the rare occasion she tries to crack a winner. Tell me something new.

 

My own little theory for why she was in Murray’s box during his semi final today:

 

Muzz: “So, I saw you in my players’ box today [grins dorkishly] - it felt cool.”

 

*steamy music*

 

Caro: “Well….[breaths deeply]….I’m not normally the kind of girl that does this sort of thing…”

 

Muzz: “Go on….”

 

Caro: "[sighs]…even now I’m not comfortable asking you this [flutters eyelashes]…”

 

Muzz: “GO ON…”

 

*record scratching noise*

 

Caro[deadpan]:  “For a guy that isn’t [airquotes with fingers] ‘about the winners’, you win, like, a lot of matches – I need to know how that works…”

 

Muzz: …

 

 

Caro’ll never be “all about the winners” the way Li and other WTA big guns are – that’ll never be “her thing”.

 

610x

 

But with a retirement bloodbath less than 20 months away (Venus, Serena, Roger, ARod, Kolya, Kim, amongst others – I’m doing ‘denial’ right now so I’m at ‘acceptance/hope’ in time for the 2012 Olympics) and with the players left to fill the void, you’ve got to think “her thing” will probably be enough to win a Slam….at some point.

 

I can see I’d better define what precisely“her thing” is: quite simply, being the best defender in the game (JJ used to be that once remember? That didn’t stop us from predicting a Slam for her).

 

And even though that’s (clearly) not quite what we expect or even desire from a world #1, it’s not half bad an asset. Besides, I’m kinda tired of the grinder storyline. She is what she is.

 

But back to Li.

 

08-fans

 

Let there be no illusions about just how big this would be if she does manage to pull this off. Your expression tells me you already know that. Ok then.

 

And yeeaaahhh, alright – she’s probably not playing for “king and country” in much the same way as Muzz is claiming it to be more of a “personal glory” thing too. (Good luck selling that to the papers)

 

I have to say, I don’t completely believe either of them. Not that they haven’t likely successfully convinced themselves of what they’re saying.

 

I just don’t think you can, in Li’s case at least, completely blot out the hopes, desires and fears of 1.3 billion people that have never had a player even contest the finals of one of these gigs before.

 

We already know something of her love for them with the charity work she does – that has to leave some kinda carbon footprint on your psyche.

 

You can try and play it down, you can try and shake it off. You can’t pretend it’s not there.

 

lina2

 

Glass half empty:

 

If she plays as dissolute a match as she played against Caro in the semis, Kim mows her, or rather she mows herself down. In straights.

 

Glass half full:

 

Li’s been astonishingly accurate since the season began which, as we all know, is astonishingly out of character for her. Maybe this really does have a sense of “destiny” to it the way Fran did at RG last year – I have to say I didn’t really see it when people were suggesting it earlier on this week.

 

Maybe a more contained, less error-prone version of Li will only continue to exist for the span of time it takes to win this thing before collapsing in on itself the way Donnie’s tangential universe did – but only after allowing him to set things right for everyone (assuming at least some of you have seen the film?), in this case over 1.3 BILLION PEOPLE.

 

If the Caro semi-final was her one dud – then I’d say she’s got it out of her system.

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