54 posts categorized "April 2009"
by Pete Bodo I always enjoyed talking with and writing about Lindsay Davenport. I had a chance to catch up with her at the recent Sony-Ericsson Open, where she was engaged as a commentator for FOX Sports Network. When I found her in the player lounge, she was working on a book of Soduku puzzles. She was dressed in a pale gray summer shift and flip-flops. Her hair was short and cut sporty, and she had about her that glow that you sometimes see on an expectant mother. One of my favorite "Lindsay Moments" occurred at the U.S. Open, in 2006, when all of tennis was abuzz with Andre Agassi's career-closing surge, and that moving, pitch-perfect farewell speech he delivered just moments after losing to Benjamin Becker in what proved to be his final match. Not long after Agassi bought Arthur Ashe stadium to a standstill (followed by an ovation that was nothing less than volcanic), I asked Lindsay in her next presser if she could see herself leaving the game in such grand style. She didn't hesitate to reply: "I could never do that. . .I'm not that courageous. You know, Andre was amazing at that. I think Chris (Evert) did something like that, as well. A lot of players seem to do it more privately. I'm sure that that would be the case for me." Lindsay had by then absorbed the truth of Polonius's immortal words: To thine own self be true. . . For Lindsay had spent most of her life shunning the limelight. If you grew up in southern California, a dark-haired girl well on your way to breaking 6-foot-2, you're probably familiar with some of the ploys Lindsay used in an attempt to keep from drawing attention to herself (always wear flats, learn how to make yourself "small" as you stand in the back row on class picture day). This compulsive desire to blend with the scenery is hardly a valuable or useful attitude for a pro tennis player. In fact, you might say that Lindsay chose the wrong career, although her $22 million-plus in prize money and three Grand Slam titles might say you're nuts. It's funny, but you rarely hear people talking about Davenport as a (former) prodigy, probably because we're mostly interested in prodigies who run off the rails. There were no such complications for Lindsay, not ever. She was winning pro tour matches at age 15, and by 17 she was in the Top 20. She was also adamant about staying in Murrieta High School and graduating with her class. Playing and winning tennis matches was second nature to Lindsay, yet she never got entirely accustomed to the public nature of that undertaking. She got better about that near the end of her career, but you always got the feeling that for her, playing before spectators was an occupational hazard. When the limelight came her way, she often ducked, dodged or stonewalled in her own patented way, by withdrawing into a shell, and that often led her to play lousy tennis. It was her greatest flaw. The U.S. Open of 2008 turned out to be Lindsay's last official tournament. Like almost every player out there, Lindsay's career ended with a loss (to Marion Bartoli, at the last U.S. Open), and that tells you something about this game. It's hard to elude the posse; in the end the posse always gets you, because you can only cheat mortality and time for so long. Even Agassi could only hold out for so long before journeyman Benjamin Becket cupped Andre's elbow in the palm of his hand, flung his other arm over Andre's shoulders, and gently led him over to his chair. Lindsay left the game under dramatically different circumstances that could be described as tailor-made for her personality. Not long after her loss to Bartoli, Lindsay unexpectedly became pregnant again (she has a son, Jagger, almost two years old). It was a welcome intervention that freed her from having to dream up some other way to tiptoe from the stage, dodging behind a cardboard tree here, a curtain there. She told me: "When we found out we're having a second child (this time, it's a girl), it took a lot of the issues and decision making out of my hands. Given how much I'd struggled last summer (2008), with just one child, there's no way I could have continued playing anyway." Evonne Goolagong, another woman pro who returned to play after having a child (She became the only mother to win a Grand Slam title in the Open era in 1980 at Wimbledon), maintains that the only adverse effect of having borne a child was an increased susceptibility to injury, although nobody could explain why that should be the case. But that's how things worked out for Lindsay, too. And the degree-of-danger may have been exacerbated for Davenport by how quickly she returned to the tour after having Jagger (a little over two months). Upon her return, Lindsay stunned tennis fans with her high-level of play. But by March of 2008 she was suffering from a sore back. A right knee injury soon followed, and it lingered. "In the beginning there, it wasn't so difficult," she told me, "Even though Jon (Leach, Davenport's husband) couldn't travel (Leach is an investment banker), we worked it out. But the problems really started when I got those injuries. Trying to be a good mother and wife while doing rehab, going to a trainer, working out and then practicing - the hours just accumulated. I began to feel guilty, and neglectful of my family." Lindsay played in fits and starts for most of the second half of 2008; she even entered the 2009 Australian Open. But the news that she was pregnant again caused her to pull the plug. The last time she played tennis was in Hawaii, over Christmas, with her husband, a former tennis All-American. She then embarked on a exploratory run as a television commentator. "I get along really well with Ted (Robinson) and Justin (Gimelstob). It would be tough to be in such close quarters with them - or anyone else - if it were any other way. I've enjoyed this more than I thought I would. But it's really still an experiment. I want to make sure I'm delivering a good message, and I don't want to be in a position to fail without really understanding this business. So this is all more of a learning experience for me." The transition to broadcasting embodies a number of challenges, although Lindsay says that the only time she's really nervous is when she's doing an "on-camera" shot that requires her to look at the camera and speak to it, as if it were another person "I find that really, really difficult," she said. It's hardly surprising, when you consider that the camera is also looking at her and broadcasting her out into millions of homes, with nothing else to distract the viewer. Lindsay's also a little leery of revealing too much about the players, or intruding on them in the locker room. She told me, "When I was playing, one commentator or another would always come down to the locker room half-an-hour before a match, looking to get some scoop. I didn't enjoy that. I try to respect everyone's privacy, and now I try not to get too close to the girls, just to be on the safe side when it comes to what I know and what I divulge. I think there's a certain line you should never cross, privacy-wise, And I definitely shy away from anything personal." That attitude may not be ideal for survival in today's media jungle, but that's alright by Lindsay.It's not like she needs the money of a television gig, right? But doing commentary does enable her to stay in touch with the game, and that's something she clearly enjoys. I had to ask her about that heartbreaking Wimbledon final she lost to Venus Williams in 2005. You may remember, Venus was serving, down 6-7 and 15-30 in the final set, after having already stared down one match point. If Lindsay wins the next point, she has two more match points. But Venus prevailed, in an agonizing, high-quality, Roland Garros-worthy rally to reach 30-all, and Lindsay, feeling fatigued for the first time in the match, wouldn't win another game. "It was one of my most disappointing losses," Lindsay said. "But it's also one of the ones I'm most proud of, in terms of how I played.I really, really wanted to win a Grand Slam being married, for my husband. That's the only thing I regret when I look back at the match." As regrets go, it's one that doesn't seem likely to cause Lindsay to lose any sleep.
Hi everyone. As always here's your gathering-place for discussing the ongoing tennis. As Crisis Centers tend to be pretty busy, we ask that you stay focused on the tennis until after the day's play is over. Afterwards it's OK to drift off-topic. The sun stayed with us yesterday, so we're into the last sixteen today in Rome. There could be some rain - there are a few clouds around. Today's Order of Play can be found on this link. We saw a few surprises yesterday - and certain surprises remained unseen by all but the fans on site at the Foro Italico, due to the backlog of matches that needed to be cleared on the outside courts yesterday. Thus David Ferrer exited at the hands of Paul-Henri Mathieu, and Jurgen Melzer beat Nikolay Davydenko, both of whom were around in the late stages in Barcelona last week. Today we'll have at least two matches on Stadio Pietrangeli where there seems to be little love lost between the competitors - namely Tommy Robredo versus Novak Djokovic (head-to-head 4-1 to Djokovic, most recently a testy encounter at the 2008 US Open) and Rafael Nadal versus Robin Soderling (2-0 to Nadal, most recently another testy five-setter in between days of rain delays at Wimbledon in 2007. Radek Stepanek faces Roger Federer for the second year running in Rome - this time last year he triumphed in two tiebreaks - the overall head-to-head is 7-2 to Federer. The matchups on Campo 1 are also enticing - Juan Monaco versus Marin Cilic (Cilic won their only match to date in three sets at last year's Olympics); Juan Martin Del Potro up against last year's finalist Stanislas Wawrinka (Wawrinka heads the head-to-head 2-0, but since they last net Del Potro's ranking has risen to number 5); and an encounter between Richard Gasquet and Fernando Verdasco to round of the day. In the latter case Gasquet leads the head-to-head 4-2, including both matches on clay to date, but Verdasco was the winner of their last match, most recently at Indian Wells. First up, though, is Fernando Gonzalez versus Jurgen Melzer on the main court. Melzer leads this head-to-head 2-1. As always, enjoy the tennis. - Rosangel Valenti PS. For those of you following the WTA today, Master Ace has provided the following timecheck information: WTA Thursday schedule:
Stuttgart - starts at 8 AM TW on center court except where listed:
Wozniacki vs Bartoli followed by Pironkova vs Radwanska on Court 1
Szavay vs Dementieva
Kuznetsova vs Li
Jankovic vs Lisicki at 12:15 PM TW
Safina vs Hantuchova
Pennetta vs Petrova
Fes - starts at 7 AM TW:
Hercog vs Kleybanova
Makarova vs Domachowska
Czink vs Hradecka
Medina Garrigues vs Dominguez Lino
[Note: we have opened up an Overflow as of around 1.25 p.m. EST. See link in blue below. RV, Further note: a second Overflow has been opened up at 5 p.m.EST].
By Pete Bodo By now, most of you probably have heard the news: Guillermo Coria has officially retired - although I would never take any retirement announcement by a professional athlete as a binding decision. Kim "Champagne Kimmy" Clijsters is plotting a comeback, Martina Navratilova appears to have been given more competitive lives than a cat, and y'all remember how Brett Favre ended up in New York Jets green-and-white in the fall of 2008. Even that clay-court icon Bjorn Borg thought twice about his decision to quit, and made a aborted comeback effort in 1982.And wasn't that Kimiko Date Krumm who just won Monzon?  One of the least appealing aspects of being a is professional athlete is that you leave the game - or get shoved out of it - at an age when you're in your prime by almost any other standard. In fact, you're probably fitter and stronger than at any previous point in your life. Calling it quits may be an even tougher decision to make when, as in Coria's case, there's no real physiological reason for throwing in the towel. "I didn't feel like competing any more," he said in his official retirement statement, "I've made the decision that I will not play again."
So ends the twisted tale of 27-year old Guillermo Coria, aka El Mago (the Magician), the former French Open finalist (2004) and world no. 3, who just can't find the most useful and fundamental weapon in a tennis player's arsenal, desire. It's an interesting quality to contemplate, now that Rafael Nadal, 22, is ripping through yet another clay-court season with an astonishing degree of attentiveness and focus. You know, you can debate two-handed vs. one-handed backhand, or the role of the winner-to-error ratio in tennis, until the cows come home. The bottom line is that tennis is like a cheesy romance novel - it's all about the passion, hot blood, and overarching desire - the only thing tennis lacks is those dudes in frilly white shirts. This point is being driven home on a daily basis in Europe, where the question "Why should Rafa even care?" is answered: Because he wants more of whatever it is he gets out of all this, and he'll stop at nothing to get it. At the end of the early hard court season, one of the big questions in my mind was the degree to which Nadal's success at the Australian Open and on the hard courts of Indian Wells and Miami would influence his results on the spring clay-court circuit that he has dominated for four years now. Nadal's answer has basically been, Not at all, because it isn't about checking things off a to-do list (de-throne Roger Federer; win Olympic gold, take the title in Melbourne. . .), it's about loving your job, which for me means going out every day to prove that I'm the baddest hombre on the planet. Coria once had that desire, too. It earned him a lot of money and made him famous; it carried him to a no. 3 ranking. Now, still in his physical prime, he's like the proverbial person who's lost his religion. This was something unexpected. The first time I saw Coria play was at the Orange Bowl of 1998, where he was seeded no. 6. He slashed and scampered all the way to the final before losing to some kid named Federer. At the time, Coria was still just 16. He looked like a bandy-legged version of the rock guitarist Eddie van Halen; he had the same stringy hair and beady eyes. But Coria was built on a small platform, standing 5-9 and barely breaking 150-pounds. Coria's agent at the time, Proserv's Patricio Apey Jr., was very high on Coria (it's part of his job description), although we were already in an era dominated by big, rangy players (think Pete Sampras, Boris Becker, Stefan Edberg et al). One thing that Coria clearly did have was heart - and that can easily make up for what a player may lack in inches or pounds. And Coria moved beautifully, with the light, nimble steps of a cat. That mobility enabled him to win the battle for court position, and that was the great key to his success. He acquired his nickname, El Mago, because of his great touch and unpredictability, and because he had a Houdini-esque ability to escape from seemingly precarious positions to win a point. The less esoteric way to put this is that he was one of the first among an emerging group of players who had a knack for making the transition from defensive retrieving to offensive dictating in the blink of an eye. Out of curiosity, I checked out Coria's fan website, and found myself moved by the heroic effort to make the Guillermo Coria saga seem the ordinary story of a successful tennis pro. Here's one passage: Then there was a large hiccup in the road on the path to glory beginning in 2006, a transitional time of elusive and often mysterious happenings, which saw King Coria fall from #8 in the world out of the top 100. And then off the tour for an entire year with injuries and uncertainty. The main recipe to his magic potion had always been his passion for his craft, and it was this that finally brought his retirement at age 27. Hiccup????? The man's career went over the cliff. At one point on his way down, Coria made over 20 double faults in a series of matches. He became one of that mysterious group of athletes who utterly and completely loses it. Here in the U.S., we have a name for that kind of thing: Steve Blass disease. Blass was the Pittsburgh Pirates baseball pitcher who, like Coria, woke up one day to find that his "stuff" had vanished. He couldn't throw the ball over the plate and soon left baseball. But there's a big difference in these two cases, because I presume there was nothing wrong with Coria's strokes, or even his serve - at least not until he set foot on the court to play a match. As he said in his retirement statement, Coria no longer wanted to compete. And if you look at the differences between Nadal and Coria's records, you'll see just how important it is for a tennis player to want to compete and win. It's the unseen, extra hand on the grip of the racket; it puts bite into the serve and snap into the passing shot. There's no greater gift than the gift of appetite. And when great players begin to struggle, the way Roger Federer is struggling, the root cause is almost always appetite. For once the appetite goes, the player begins to ask, Why? Why do I need to win Monte Carlo again? Why do I need to beat the no. 24 player in the world? Why does there have to be a winner and a loser, every time? Coria has apparently decided that he can't really answer such questions with conviction. Part of this must be because he's fallen so far, so fast. The list of names between his own and that of the no. 3 ranked players is so long and so filled with talent, that it has to be disheartening. It's like Coria is waking from a pleasant dream in which he reached the no. 3 ranking, but he's now subject to a new reality - one that started to take shape in the 2004 Roland Garros final. You may remember the Coria was the favorite to win the title that year. He beat former Roland Garros champ Carlos Moya in the quarterfinals, and Tim Henman (that's no typo!) in the semifinals.But, in an all-Argentinian final against unseeded Gaston Gaudio, Coria buckled. He served for the match twice in the fifth set, at 5-4 and 6-5, and had two match points - each of them swept away by his own hand, as he went for winners and missed the line by inches. Gaudio came back to win, 8-6 in the fifth. Some pundits believe that losing the French Open final just kept eating away at Coria, corrupting his game like an insidious virus. There were also rumors of marital discord. Others attribute his loss of form to back troubles. But there's never really been a satisfactory answer for his dramatic and sustained loss of form, or at least none better than the one he offered: He just didn't feel any joy in competing any more. The kid, named after Guillermo Vilas and the son of a tennis coach, was simply burned out. The curious thing about the story is that Gaudio, nicknamed El Gato (the Cat) has also struggled mightily since he won that title at Roland Garros. He's currenly ranked no. 762, while Coria quit with a ranking of 672. Unless Gaudio makes a move, Coria can at least claim to have surpassed Gaudio in the rankings. That French Open final was one of the most riveting in many years, and the men who contested have each paid a price for their moment of glory.
Hi everyone. We're into the third day in Rome with the second round under way. There are still matches to catch up on after bad weather earlier in the week - and the prospect of more rain to come, though today's weather looks bright so far. At least one match started after midnight last night, in an effort to keep the schedule from being derailed. Today's Order of Play is on this link. Novak Djokovic won his match last night; the rest of the top four are scheduled to play this afternoon on Stadio Pietrangeli.  I noticed some speculation in the comments section overnight regarding the near-term prospect of Andy Murray taking over the number three spot from Novak Djokovic - a spot held by the Serb for most of the past two years. The good news for the Scot is that this week his prospects are mostly on his own racquet - that is, he doesn't need to rely on the defending champion losing his title, though that would also gain him a rankings boost.
Let's look at this more closely, because the current situation within the ATP rankings is a little more complicated than usual, given the shift from the old points system to the new (with players being more heavily rewarded for winning tournaments, relatively speaking). Also tournaments this year are being played a week earlier than they were in the 2008 calendar, which (because points are held for a full 52 weeks) means that in some weeks players will hold points from playing the same Masters Series event in both 2008 and 2009. Madrid replaces Hamburg in the calendar this year, but is also a week earlier; points from Hamburg 2008 are for all practical purposes being defended in Madrid this year. Djokovic is currently on a total of 9160 ranking points to Murray's 9050. He will lose 1000 points from winning Rome 2008 on Monday 11th May, which means that his points total will drop to 8160 plus whatever he wins in Rome this year, and at his new tournament in Belgrade (an ATP 250 event), which begins next week. As of that 11th May date he can achieve a maximum of 9320 points, if he wins both tournaments. Murray loses just 70 points on the same day, so will be on 8980 points plus whatever he's won in Rome - a maximum of 9980 points.
This means that even if Djokovic wins Rome again this year, Murray can overtake him for sure by reaching the semifinal this week, which would put him on 9340 points. If Djokovic were to be the losing finalist, he'd be on a maximum of 8920 points on Monday week (May 11th). In that scenario Murray doesn't need to win any points in Rome to get to number three.
Then in Madrid Djokovic has 450 points to defend (from Hamburg 2008) versus Murray's 150, after already playing for two weeks straight. To me it's looking pretty likely that Andy Murray will be ranked number three sooner rather than later. As always, enjoy today's tennis. - Rosangel Valenti [Note: as of around 11.05 a.m. EST, we are moving comments to an Overflow post. Please follow the link in blue below Further note: as of around 3.10 p.m., a second Overflow has been opened - see link below]. Overflow Overflow 2
 by Pete Bodo
Howdy. Rosangel and Ed have us pretty well covered this morning, as they do on most Mondays. But I wanted to drop by and tip my hat to y'all. I just wrote a post for ESPN on the weekend's Fed Cup action, with a focus on - what else? - doubles. Bethanie Mattek-Sands and Liezel Huber fought off a match-point at 2-6, 2-5, 30-40 in the second set, and went on with the match and clinch a place in the Fed Cup final, which Italy will host in early November. It's hard to imagine that the Italians would choose anything but clay for the final; the only time in years that they've gone with a different surface was in 2008, when Italy chose an indoor hard court on which to play Spain.The choice backfired, with Spain winning, 3-2. And choosing hard courts over clay for a tie vs. the USA would roughly be like opting to play Bobby Fischer at chess rather than bingo. And lest you think I'm assigning too much heft to USA singles players Alexa Glatch and Bethanie Mattek-Sands, remember that the US may field a team for the finals featuring Venus and Serena Williams. How do you say "nightmare" in Italian? Of course, this raises and interesting question - having come this far with a team that appears to be emulating the USA's MIracle on Ice hockey team of 1980, should Fed Cup captain Mary Jo Fernandez even think about recruiting Venus and Serena, or both? Why not go with the flow, see if this really is a team of destiny? I saw in the Monday Net Post the Easy Ed doesn't want Fernandez to bring in the Williams sisters. When I asked him about it at the watercooler, he said he prefers to see the team field a consistent line-up. While it's true that the players who have done the heavy lifting in the early rounds ought to get a chance to bask in final-round glory, I don't know that participation and loyalty ought to be determining factors in selection.For one thing, a captain's sole job is to figure out how to get the job done - to win. Every player in any given nation ought to be a candidate, and feel like a candidate, for any tie - unless he or she has no interest in the competition. Top players also are more reluctant than you might think to parachute in for a high-profile tie, because that can create tensions within a team, and it puts a lot of pressure on the star player. Alexa Glatch and Melanie Oudin are promising youngsters, but they're still of a difference class than the Williams sisters. Also, the USA line-up has been juggled plenty already (props to Mary Jo) - it's not like Mattek-Sands or Glatch has carried this team. Team USA has started four different singles players (Jill Crybas, Oudin, Mattek-Sands and Glatch) in just two ties. So why not use six, if that's what it takes to get the job done? I'd be curious to know how the American girls would feel about making room for Venus and Serena, knowing that doing so will certainly leave one or two of them sidelined for the glorious moment. Would any of these girls rather win more matches, or help win the Fed Cup? It's a serious question, I think, and a good one. Keep in mind that this is a far cry from the good old days. The USA made the final in 2003, only to get waxed by the French. And the last time the USA won the Fed Cup was in 2000, when Lindsay Davenport and Monica Seles roughed up a Spain squad that featured Conchita Martinez and Aranxta Sanchez-Vicario, on fast indoor supreme in Las Vegas. This weekend, Serbia had to fight its
way back into the World Group, despite having Jelena Jankovic and Ana
Ivanovic on the squad. Also this weekend, talent-laden but unpredictable France re-inserted itself
into the Word Group in yet another match decided by the fifth rubber (the
doubles) . Russia has won the Fed Cup for four of the last five years, but the Italians - who have shown an amazing ability to punch above their weight - ended that run. So we have the "have nots (the U.S.)" battling it out with the "have somes." And if the USA brings along Venus, Serena or both, it's status can be upgraded to that of a "have mores." The sisters will be in an awkward position - much moreso than the U.S. captain, Fernandez. The combination of red clay and home-court advantage will present a serious obstacle for the visiting team, even if it's led by the Williams sisters.And who knows what frame of mind the sisters will be in, come November? While the clay may spell d-a-n-g-e-r, let's keep things in perspective: Venus is 35-12 at Roland Garros, and Serena is 31-7. The Italian Fed Cup warhorses are Francesa Schiavone (20-18 at Roland Garros) and Flavia Pennetta, who's just 9-6 at the clay-court major. And lastly, playing in the final asks a lot, mentally and emotionally, from relative newcomers like Oudin and Glatch. That's another good reason for Fernandez to contemplate picking up the phone after the U.S. Open to launch a campaign to convince the Williamses to play the final. I can see this the other way around, too - take that leap of faith with the youngsters, trusting that their desire and positive Fed Cup experience thus far will be sufficient inspiration. These girls have done a great job, and it may not seem right to yank away the prize that's been dangled before them once they've gotten close enough to grab it. But an away final, on slow clay, against an Italian team that consistently outperforms expectations - that's a set of conditions that demands players who are Grand Slam tough, seasoned, and capable of intimidating their opponents simply by virtue of who they are. Should the Williams sisters play, they'd have a good shot at bringing home the Fed Cup trophy for the first time in nine years - and every woman who swung a racket in the cause would have reason to feel proud about her contribution. Glatch, Mattek-Sands and company have done a great job, unexpectedly pulling team USA into the final.Now they should make room for the Williams sisters, if the girls are fit and willing, to complete what would have to be one of the outstanding team performances in recent memory. Playing a smaller role on a winning Fed Cup team must be a more rewarding experience than having a larger role in a losing effort.
Hi everyone. It seemed as though the weather was the real star of the day in Rome yesterday. I know that early-round matches at some events are ill-attended, but the depleted-of-spectators scene pictured above (during the match between local boy Potito Starace and Spain's Albert Montanes) was unusual even so. Those of us watching on TV could see the way that the wind was whipping the dust around, and at some stages the players were dealing with fairly heavy rain. Today's schedule is jam-packed to try to deal with the resulting backlog - the link to the Order of Play is here. Even the outermost sunken courts are being pressed into service to deal with matches between players many of us know and cherish. Yet no-one except those on site will get to see potential delights such as the encounters between Ernests Gulbis and Nicolas Almagro, or Thomaz Bellucci and Feliciano Lopez. The second biggest name playing today will be Andy Murray, who takes on Juan Monaco in his second-round match.Their head-to-head is hardly definitive - they have played just once, in Miami this year, when Murray triumphed in three sets on his best surface. Monaco's best surface is clay, so this should be a good test for both players. Murray's progress on clay has been greatly talked up after a single tournament in Monte Carlo this year - can he deliver today? Later Novak Djokovic takes on Albert Montanes, who recently extended him to three sets in Monte Carlo. As always, enjoy the tennis - and please stay on-topic and stick to discussing the day's matches until after they are over. Later it's OK to drift off-topic. We'll make an exception if the weather is poor, which could be the case today - rain is forecast in Rome every day this week until Saturday, and right now the umbrellas are up (um....whose idea was it to get rid of Hamburg and its roof within the Masters Series?). - Rosangel Valenti [Note - as of around 15.30 p.m. EST, we are moving comments to a new post on the Overflow blog. It's linked below in blue. RV.] Overflow
 By TW Contributing Editor, Ed McGrogan
Last Week's Tournaments
Barcelona Open Banco Sabadell (ATP - Clay - Barcelona, Spain)
Singles Bracket
- Rafael Nadal def. David Ferrer
Doubles Bracket
- Daniel Nestor/Nenad Zimonjic def. Mahesh Bhupathi/Mark Knowles
Fed Cup (ITF - World Group Semifinals)
Italy vs. Russia
- Italy wins 4-1
Czech Republic vs. United States
- United States wins
McGrogan's Heroes
ATP - Rafael Nadal
With the Rome Masters starting today and the Madrid Masters looming in two weeks, Rafael Nadal should be applauded just for playing in last week’s Barcelona Open. (Or panned, I suppose, if you want to see him get some rest.) Then the world’s best tennis player goes and wins his fifth straight title at the Real Club de Tenis.
Rafa, we kneel before you on the red clay. Still have any of those old Nike capris to keep our knees clean?
As the world No. 1, Nadal’s commitment to the Barcelona Open is refreshing. He’s not chasing anyone in the rankings, so he doesn’t need the points; he clearly doesn’t need the money; and whether or not he wins at Barcelona, he’s obviously still the best player on clay. I liken his decision to Federer’s annual participation in the Davidoff Swiss Indoors in Basel -- a close-to-home event that surely has some sentimental attachment to it. Though I wonder, will Nadal still play in Barcelona if he’s not the defending champion?
Another question I have is, how will Nadal fare in Rome? Last year, Rafa was gassed, losing his opening match to a player he should never be threatened by, Juan Carlos Ferrero. This year, he’ll face either Andreas Seppi or Sam Querrey in the second round. I doubt either will pull a Ferrero this time around -- I suspect that Nadal will want to prove last year’s one-and-done performance was a fluke.
But even if Nadal is sent packing early, who cares? There’s absolutely nothing to suggest that he isn’t the overwhelming favorite at Roland Garros. In the past two weeks, the Spaniard played 10 best-of-three set matches, and lost just one set. I like his chances in two weeks’ worth of best-of-fives.
WTA - Liezel Huber & Bethanie Mattek-Sands
Longtime readers of the Monday Net Post know that doubles has always been mentioned in this column, though the discipline is rarely recognized in the "McGrogan's Heroes" section. Not this week. Doubles fans, rejoice -- the remarkable comeback by Americans Liezel Huber and Bethanie Mattek-Sands in their Fed Cup semifinal against the Czech Republic earned them the highest honor that I can give.
While outside on an unseasonably warm April day in New York City, I checked the score of this deciding doubles rubber and saw that the Czech pair of Kveta Peschke and Iveta Benesova led 6-2, 5-2. A little while later, I checked the scores again, just to confirm the inevitable, and saw that the United States had won the tie. Was this a live doubles rubber after all? Indeed it was -- Huber and Mattek-Sands saved a match point and amazingly came back to win the match, 2-6, 7-6 (1), 6-1.
For the Czech supporters in Brno that surely thought that this tie was in the bag, I feel your pain. The Buffalo Bills incredibly missed the NFL playoffs after a 5-1 start last season, and the New York Rangers are about to blow a 3-1 series lead against the Washington Capitals in this year's NHL playoffs. But I feel especially good for one person: Huber. The doubles specialist started competing for the United States in Fed Cup just last year, after doing so for South Africa since 1998. She's embraced the competition at a time when many have opted to skip it (namely the Williams sisters, who I hope do not play for the U.S. in the final against Italy). Despite the fact that she "changed countries," which seems a little weird, I give her credit for devoting her time and energy to a unique tournament that is largely overlooked.
(A statistic I'd love to know: How many people in the U.S. will watch the Fed Cup final? Don't worry, there's still time to spread the word -- it's not till November.)
Next Week's Tournaments
(TV Schedule)
Internazionali BNL d'Italia (ATP - Clay - Rome, Italy)
Singles Bracket
Doubles Bracket
Grand Prix SAR La Princesse Lalla Meryem (WTA - Clay - Fes, Morocco)
Singles & Doubles Brackets
Porsche Tennis Grand Prix (WTA - Clay - Stuttgart, Germany)
Singles & Doubles Brackets
Hi everyone. Another day, and another claycourt Masters tournament begins - this time the Italian Open in Rome. Today's Order of Play is to be found on this link. The singles draw is here - now updated with the names of those who came through qualification yesterday. Thus Juan Monaco could be Andy Murray's second-round opponent, and we could also be in for a second-round meeting between Mikhail Youzhny and Stanislas Wawrinka.The man who put out Rafael Nadal in round 2 last year, Juan Carlos Ferrero, lost in qualifying, so won't be appearing in the main draw. It's not clear why, as a former champion, he wasn't offered a wildcard into the event. The Foro Italico itself remains a unique tennis venue. Everything about it seems...well, heavy. Built
in grandiose style during the Mussolini era, it's vast compared to the
area hosting most tennis tournaments. The statues and much else are built of marble. I spent a considerable time last year watching tennis taking place upon the group of sunken courts that comprise the outside courts at the event. Surrounded by cypress tree and overlooked by a restaurant with outside seating, they are all packed together side-by-side and back-to-back in one large arena surrounded by marbled steps, which are used as seating by spectators. You can sit there for a long time and, without moving, dip in and out of three or four matches, or watch players practice.The picture above was taken last year. I don't know whether it will be as sunny in 2009 - the weather forecast suggests that we could see some rain this week, and the skies currently look overcast. As I discovered at the cost
of my knees and poor, abused feet (Nadal's blisters had nothing on mine
- I didn't have the benefit of a trainer, nor was I carrying plasters
or bandages), the area inside and out is pocked with awkward
cracks and potholes, which also makes it hazardous to navigate if
you're weighed down with photographic equipment, as I was. The road I was walking down to reach the venue literally had large trees bursting up through the pavements, which therefore bulged haphazardly - and treacherously. It was all worth
it, but I spent some long, weary days in the heat and dust. The moral of the story - if you go to see tennis in Rome, wear sensible shoes and socks. The historic main court (the Campo Centrale, once known as the Pallacorda) at the Foro Italico remains closed for renovations for the second year running, meaning that the smaller Stadio Pietrangeli has been adopted as the central venue for the time being. Last year I could see the famous 40-foot statues of Roman gods from outside the main court, but the whole area was shrouded in a kind of green canvas packing, looking a little neglected. I believe that Stadio Pietrangeli has only about half of the capacity of Campo Centrale (which seats over 9,000), so for the moment it's quite an exclusive ticket. The tennis is due to start in a few minutes - so as always, enjoy it! - Rosangel Valenti
Good afternoon everyone. Here's today's post for discussing the live tennis that's going on. Apart from the final in Barcelona, and more Fed Cup action, there will be some qualifying matches happening at the ATP Masters tournament in Rome - here's the link to the Order of Play at the Italian Open, and also the draw. Fans of Roger Federer, Noval Djokovic, Andy Murray, Juan Martin Del Potro and Marat Safin checking the Order of Play shouldn't worry that they are missing out - the top-ranked players listed on the schedule are all involved in charity exhibitions, not early-round matches. The Barcelona final involves Rafael Nadal and David Ferrer, in a repeat of last year's final, after the indefatigable Ferrer came back from a set down yesterday to defeat Fernando Gonzalez in a final-set tiebreak. Last year Nadal won 6-1, 4-6, 6-1 - the two haven't played each other since then. Examining their head-to-head, Ferrer has previously recorded a win over Nadal on clay, in the Stuttgart quarterfinals back in 2004. Of course this predated Nadal's current dominance on clay - he's currently riding a 24-match winning streak on the surface. As many of you know I was in Barcelona for the final last year, and there was a terrific atmosphere in the stadium, which was packed full, with plenty of supporters for both Spaniards, which is always good to see. I've visited a few countries in my tennis travels, and a full house isn't guaranteed everywhere - even the classic Nadal-Djokovic semifinal last year in Hamburg, showcasing some of the best tennis seen during the entire season, was played to a stadium that was probably only three-quarters full. With Madrid replacing Hamburg in the schedule, one thing we can almost certainly count on is a full complement of spectators.  If those of us watching on TV or via internet streams today are fortunate enough to catch a glimpse of the presentation ceremony after the final, the Conde de Godo trophy is definitely worth looking out for. I don't know how much it weighs, but I'm fairly sure that there's nothing hollow or flimsy about this particular piece of flashy silverware. I can recall that when then-champion Marat Safin was holding it up back in 2000 (can it really be that long since he won?) he looked close to knocking himself out with it.
One of my own pictures taken last year shows that the current defending champion had to manoeuvre the silverware rather carefully - I have a series of shots showing that for a few moments even he looked as though he was staggering under its weight, despite three previous years of practice in hefting it high. As always, enjoy today's tennis. - Rosangel Valenti
Meanwhile Master Ace provides the TWibe with the following timechecks and other details for today's Fed Cup action:
Fed Cup Playoffs(lineups are subject to change):
All times TW (United States Eastern Time Zone)
Russia @ Italy - outdoor clay - 5:30 AM
Italy leads 2-0
Svetlana Kuznetsova vs Flavia Pennetta
Anna Chakvetadze vs Francesca Schiavone
Doubles: Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova/Nadia Petrova vs Sara Errani/Roberta Vinci
United States @ Czech Republic - indoor hard - 6 AM
Tied at 1
Bethanie Mattek-Sands vs Iveta Benesova
Alexa Glatch vs Petra Kvitova
Doubles: Liezel Huber/Bethanie Mattek-Sands vs Iveta Benesova/Kveta Peschke
World Group Playoffs - all matchups are on outdoor clay except where noted - winners advance to main group
Serbia @ Spain - 6 AM
Serbia leads 2-0
Jankovic vs Medina Garrigues
Ivanovic vs Martinez Sanchez
Ivanovic/Jankovic vs Dominguez Lino/Llagostera Vives
Slovak Republic @ France - 7 AM - indoor clay
Tied at 1
Cibulkova vs Cornet
Hantuchova vs Mauresmo
Cibulkova/Hantuchova vs Dechy/Johansson
China @ Germany - 5 AM
Germany leads 2-0
Zheng vs Groenefeld
Peng vs Lisicki
Lu/Sun vs Barrois/Malek
Ukraine @ Argentina - 9 AM
Ukraine leads 2-0
A Bondarenko vs Cravero
Koryttseva vs Irigoyen
K Bondarenko/Savchuk vs Ormaechea/Salut
World Group Playoffs II - losers are relegated to Zonal competition
Australia advances over Switerland 3-0 with 2 dead rubbers to play
Canada @ Belgium - 7 AM - indoor clay - tied at 1
Israel @ Estonia - 4:30 AM - indoor hard - tied at 1
Japan @ Poland - 5 AM - outdoor clay - tied at 1 [Note - as of around 7.40 p.m. EST, we are moving comments to the Overflow blog. The link is in blue below - RV]. Overflow
Good afternoon all (and good morning if you're ion the other side of the Atlantic). The semifinals in Barcelona are beginning shortly, as we near the end of an almost Murray free tennis-viewing week here in the UK. So far there have only been a couple of mentions of the Scot by TV commentators, and only one of those could be said to have overestimated his achievements to date. I don't have a thing against Andy Murray, you understand - in fact I'm quite a fan - but....well, others in here in the UK will know what it's like. There are only eight weeks between now and the start of Wimbledon, and if he's not mentioned often enough some of us might forget who he is. Never fear - the Rome draw should be out very soon. Nalbandian, Monfils, Roddick and Ancic are all out, but Mr Murray is definitely expected. Returning to (red) earth for a moment, today's first Barcelona semifinal features Nikolay Davydenko and Rafael Nadal. Their head-to-head stands 3-2 in favour of the world number one, including both meetings so far on clay. However, Kolya managed to take a set from Rafa when the two met in Rome two years ago, in one of the best three-set claycourt matches of the year. The second semifinal features David Ferrer (looking to repeat his appearance in the final last year) and Fernando Gonzalez. Gonzalez leads their head-to-head 4-2, including having taken both of their matches on clay; however, it's almost three years since they played each other. The Spaniard would be the local favourite in any event, but the Chilean didn't win himself many fans in the crowd yesterday with his repeated questioning of line calls during his match against Fernando Verdasco. Ah well - how many times do we have a reason to feature a picture of Gonzo viewed from this angle in TennisWorld? As always, enjoy today's tennis. - Rosangel Valenti
Master Ace provides the TWibe with the following timechecks for today's Fed Cup Playoffs: All Times TW (United States Eastern Time Zone)
Russia @ Italy - outdoor clay - 6 AM
Anna Chakvetadze vs Flavia Pennetta
Svetlana Kuznetsova vs Francesca Schiavone
United States @ Czech Republic - indoor hard - 7:30 AM
Bethanie Mattek-Sands vs Petra Kvitova
Alexa Glatch vs Iveta Benesova
World Group Playoffs - all matchups are on outdoor clay except where noted - winners advance to main group
Serbia @ Spain - 7 AM
Jankovic vs Martinez Sanchez
Ivanovic vs Medina Garrigues
Slovak Republic @ France - 7:30 AM - indoor clay
Hantuchova vs Cornet
Cibulkova vs Mauresmo
China @ Germany - 6 AM
Zheng vs Lisicki
Peng vs Groenefeld
Ukraine @ Argentina - 9 AM
Koryttseva vs Cravero
A Bondarenko vs Irigoyen [Note - as of around 12.30 p.m. EST, we are moving comments to an Overflow post, to save some of your comments from being suspended in TypePad limbo. See the link in blue below]. Overflow
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