We're up to the semifinals at the first four clay court tournaments of the season, and unfortunately, the biggest story of the week is not a good one. Wayne Odesnik, convicted of possessing and smuggling HGH into Australia earlier in the year, is still playing at this year's U.S. Clay Court Championships in Houston. Pete Bodo has the best look at the whole situation, but the summary is this:
There is no possible way, based on any evidence that we've been presented with thus far, that Odesnik will not get out of a suspension. He's been convicted of possession, and that is punishable in the same way that a positive drug test would have been. So it's a near-certainty that he'll be out of the game for two years, and all of his results between his conviction and his suspension will be nullified. His prize money, too. So that means he's playing in this tournaments - and making the the quarterfinals, thus far - for nothing, except denying other players their shot.
It's either really stupid, or really shameless, or both. I don't have a lot of sympathy for this guy at this point, and I hope that he loses to Querrey in the next round, or else he has a real shot at winning at the tournament, which is absolutely a terrible result for all involved. The ATP needs to review their policies after this whole ordeal and get some sort of a provisional suspension in place so that this does not happen again. It's just not acceptable. Hopefully, Querrey can end this story before it becomes a real problem for the ITF and the WADA.
In any case, the other semifinal in Houston, which looked like it would be Gonzalez and Hewitt, is instead Juan Ignacio Chela and Horacio Zeballos. Not quite the blockbuster that the organizers were hoping for. They're both relatively unknown players in the states, but both very talented clay court players, and either one has a legitimate shot of walking away with the title. Here's hoping that they beat Odesnik, if Querrey can't pull it off.
In Casablanca, things are relatively quiet. Victor Hanescu has been playing some great ball to beat Jarkko Nieminen, who blew through qualifying, and then former top-ten player Richard Gasquet, who still hasn't gotten his career Renaissance. Hanescu faces Florent Serra in one semifinal, while the other is top seed Stan Wawrinka against Italy's Potito Starace, who hasn't had the toughest draw, but hasn't lost a set and has been playing great ball. Really, any one of these players has a legitimate shot at the title, and it's tough to know who's going to come out on top.
Really, everyone's looking ahead to next week's tournament in Monte Carlo - the draw comes out tomorrow, so we'll take a look at that and see the real beginning of the clay court season starting next week. This is all just a warm-up.
Showing posts with label odesnik. Show all posts
Showing posts with label odesnik. Show all posts
Saturday, April 10, 2010
Monday, April 5, 2010
Miami Review and Next Week's Preview
Roddick won today, in what could only be described as an efficient and workmanlike performance. It didn't reach the level of shotmaking and spectacle that Roddick got to against Nadal, but it wasn't necessary. Berdych never quite got out of third gear, and he really needed to hit that level in order to push Roddick today. Roddick served effectively - not huge, but he was hitting his spots and preventing Berdych from really getting his feet underneath him and getting too many returns deep. He won 70% of his second serve points against the Czech, and he's going to be tough to beat when that's the case.
In fact, Roddick never even faced a break point against Berdych. He was only broken twice in the entire tournament, once against Benjamin Becker and once against Nadal. And that's all well and good, but he also managed to take advantage of the brief period where Berdych got troubled by the pressure of the situation or the sun or just an inexplicable dip in focus. Roddick broke Berdych at 5-all in the first set and then again at love-all in the second, and that was all he needed. He had a couple more break points near the end of the second set which were also match points, but Berdych managed to save them. That kind of thing could have given a less steady player pause, and it could have turned the match around. I've seen it happen before. But Roddick came back and served out the match with aplomb.
It's a bit of shame that the clay court season is just starting, because this is the biggest purple patch of Roddick's play that we've seen in a long time. And he's said in his post-tournament interview that he's not thrilled about the move to clay, which is a shame. Yes, it blunts the effectiveness of his hard serve, but his kick will still work, and his new style of defensive-minded back court play should actually serve him well. There is no reason he can't get some points at these claycourt masters series events or get into the French Open. I really hope to see him get over his phobia of crushed red brick.
Whether Roddick wants it to or not, the claycourt season starts in earnest now. But that doesn't mean that it has to leave the United States quite yet. The U.S.'s last vestige of claycourt tennis takes place this week in Houston, Texas. It should be interesting to see if an American player can do well here, as there are quite a few of them in the draw. It's green clay, which is quicker than its red counterpart, so that could help.
Lleyton Hewitt won this tournament last year, and he's back this year, in his first tournament since the drubbing he got from Roger Federer at the Australian Open. He could open against Mardy Fish, if Fish survives his first round. Both players are recovering from surgery and subsequent injury, but it could still be a good match.
Also, be on the lookout for Americans Querrey, Isner, and Russell, who are all in the same half of the draw. Even though he's the lowest-ranked, I think that Russell's game is actually the most well-suited to clay. Keep an eye on the fourth American in the bottom half of the draw as well - Wayne Odesnik, who is going to keep playing tennis while he waits for the decision resulting from the discovery that he was caught with HGH on his way into Australia. I'm surprised by his decision, and interested to see how he plays under the circumstances. He's actually not a bad player on this surface, but he's just going to get hounded here.
Also, keep an eye on Fernando Gonzalez, the top seed, and Horacio Zeballos. We all know that the South Americans have always been better on the clay. Another player who's one to watch in the top half is American wildcard Donald Young. He dropped in qualifying in the last four tournaments he's played in, so it's got to be a gift to get a wildcard directly into the main draw. Let's see if he can take advantage. Taylor Dent is also here, but this surface has just got to be death for a guy who plays big serve, net rush, and put away the volley. Don't expect him to get far.
The other tournament going on this coming week is on the other side of the pond, in Casablanca. The draw there is not especially robust, either. This week is always a bit of a dead week in some respect, as the players who did well during the hard court swing need rest, and the players who are really focusing on the claycourt swing want to get ready for the Monte Carlo masters, which takes place the following week.
The top seed and favorite to win it is Stan Wawrinka, who shouldn't really be troubled on his way to the semis, where he might face a Frenchman like Arnaud Clement or Paul-Henri Mathieu. It would be a surprise for the Swiss number two to fall prior to that. The bottom half is a bit more open, with Victor Hanescu - who really shouldn't consider clay his best surface but somehow does - Daniel "Crazycakes" Koellerer and two of the tournaments potential winners actually meeting in the first round - Olivier Rochus and Richard Gasquet.
After the excitement of two masters series in a row, the week that follows is going to feel a bit like a letdown, but there's still bound to be some good tennis. Just like it is for a lot of these players, it's a warm-up before the real claycourt season starts in earnest next week.
In fact, Roddick never even faced a break point against Berdych. He was only broken twice in the entire tournament, once against Benjamin Becker and once against Nadal. And that's all well and good, but he also managed to take advantage of the brief period where Berdych got troubled by the pressure of the situation or the sun or just an inexplicable dip in focus. Roddick broke Berdych at 5-all in the first set and then again at love-all in the second, and that was all he needed. He had a couple more break points near the end of the second set which were also match points, but Berdych managed to save them. That kind of thing could have given a less steady player pause, and it could have turned the match around. I've seen it happen before. But Roddick came back and served out the match with aplomb.
It's a bit of shame that the clay court season is just starting, because this is the biggest purple patch of Roddick's play that we've seen in a long time. And he's said in his post-tournament interview that he's not thrilled about the move to clay, which is a shame. Yes, it blunts the effectiveness of his hard serve, but his kick will still work, and his new style of defensive-minded back court play should actually serve him well. There is no reason he can't get some points at these claycourt masters series events or get into the French Open. I really hope to see him get over his phobia of crushed red brick.
Whether Roddick wants it to or not, the claycourt season starts in earnest now. But that doesn't mean that it has to leave the United States quite yet. The U.S.'s last vestige of claycourt tennis takes place this week in Houston, Texas. It should be interesting to see if an American player can do well here, as there are quite a few of them in the draw. It's green clay, which is quicker than its red counterpart, so that could help.
Lleyton Hewitt won this tournament last year, and he's back this year, in his first tournament since the drubbing he got from Roger Federer at the Australian Open. He could open against Mardy Fish, if Fish survives his first round. Both players are recovering from surgery and subsequent injury, but it could still be a good match.
Also, be on the lookout for Americans Querrey, Isner, and Russell, who are all in the same half of the draw. Even though he's the lowest-ranked, I think that Russell's game is actually the most well-suited to clay. Keep an eye on the fourth American in the bottom half of the draw as well - Wayne Odesnik, who is going to keep playing tennis while he waits for the decision resulting from the discovery that he was caught with HGH on his way into Australia. I'm surprised by his decision, and interested to see how he plays under the circumstances. He's actually not a bad player on this surface, but he's just going to get hounded here.
Also, keep an eye on Fernando Gonzalez, the top seed, and Horacio Zeballos. We all know that the South Americans have always been better on the clay. Another player who's one to watch in the top half is American wildcard Donald Young. He dropped in qualifying in the last four tournaments he's played in, so it's got to be a gift to get a wildcard directly into the main draw. Let's see if he can take advantage. Taylor Dent is also here, but this surface has just got to be death for a guy who plays big serve, net rush, and put away the volley. Don't expect him to get far.
The other tournament going on this coming week is on the other side of the pond, in Casablanca. The draw there is not especially robust, either. This week is always a bit of a dead week in some respect, as the players who did well during the hard court swing need rest, and the players who are really focusing on the claycourt swing want to get ready for the Monte Carlo masters, which takes place the following week.
The top seed and favorite to win it is Stan Wawrinka, who shouldn't really be troubled on his way to the semis, where he might face a Frenchman like Arnaud Clement or Paul-Henri Mathieu. It would be a surprise for the Swiss number two to fall prior to that. The bottom half is a bit more open, with Victor Hanescu - who really shouldn't consider clay his best surface but somehow does - Daniel "Crazycakes" Koellerer and two of the tournaments potential winners actually meeting in the first round - Olivier Rochus and Richard Gasquet.
After the excitement of two masters series in a row, the week that follows is going to feel a bit like a letdown, but there's still bound to be some good tennis. Just like it is for a lot of these players, it's a warm-up before the real claycourt season starts in earnest next week.
Thursday, January 7, 2010
Scheduling is a mess...
... when you've got tennis taking place in places that are ten hours apart. In my current time zone, the tennis in Auckland starts at around 6 PM, Brisbane starts at 6:30, Chennai starts at 6 AM, and Doha starts at 7. It's tough to figure out how to watch all of that and still find time to sleep! I'm glad I caught as much as I did yesterday, though.
Brisbane is where all the action is. Justine Henin's comeback continues, and she's into the semifinals, where she'll play Ana Ivanovic, which is definitely the dream match-up for the bottom half of the draw. Both players have been doing well, and even though she may be rusty, I'm inclined to give this one to Justine based on experience. She managed to pull out a tight one against Melinda Czink, squandering five (possible six) match points before winning in a third-set tiebreaker.
Another player who squeaked through in a third-set breaker was James Blake, who saved three match points against Marc Gicquel before winning 10-8. Blake played very well, and was a bit more patient than I'd seen him be in these types of tight matches. He was still blowing winners by Gicquel whenever he gets the chance, but he took the time to set up more points than I'm used to seeing. That's a positive for Blake. His first real test comes tonight, though, when he plays Frenchman Gael Monfils. I don't care how late it is, I'm staying up to watch it, since it's a match between two of the best shotmakers in the game. And Monfils has been struggling in his first two rounds, playing six sets and four tiebreaks.
Another high-quality match in Brisbane was Andy Roddick against Carsten Ball. Ball did not play like a challenger-regular whose ranking has never dipped inside the top hundred. For twelve games in the first set and then seven games in the second, there was very little to choose between these two players. However, Roddick showed his variety and his experience in the tiebreak, winning all seven points, and then breaking Ball in the second set before serving out the match. Despite the loss, it should be an encouraging performance for Carsten. No doubt we'll see the big-serving lefty again.
I have to say that the matches in the other three tournaments taking place this week haven't really been at the same level. Most of the players in Chennai and Doha cruised over the past few days, particularly the big three in Doha. However, two of them face their first challenge in the next round, potentially. Federer goes up against Ernests Gulbis, and Davydenko takes on Ivo Karlovic. I expect that both of them will come through those matches, but there's an outside chance of an upset in each.
There were a few matches that had the potential to be exciting, but then didn't deliver. After beating DeHeart in the first round, Younes El Aynaoui excited everyone about his potential to play Nadal, but his body just didn't hold up, and he was vanquished easily by Belgian qualifier Steve Darcis. In Chennai, local hopeful beat former top-ten player Rainer Schuettler in the first round, only to be shut down by Janko Tipsarevic 2 and 1.
American Wayne Odesnik looked to be challenging defending champ Radek Stepanek in Brisbane as well, breaking the wily Czech and serving for the first set. But Odesnik seemed to tweak something in his back, and from that point on, he was never in the match. Additionally, he seemed to repeatedly forget that Brisbane didn't have the hawkeye challenge system in play, and had to be reminded by the umpire twice.
As we move into the final rounds of this first week of the season, I have to wonder how I got by without tennis for two months.
Brisbane is where all the action is. Justine Henin's comeback continues, and she's into the semifinals, where she'll play Ana Ivanovic, which is definitely the dream match-up for the bottom half of the draw. Both players have been doing well, and even though she may be rusty, I'm inclined to give this one to Justine based on experience. She managed to pull out a tight one against Melinda Czink, squandering five (possible six) match points before winning in a third-set tiebreaker.
Another player who squeaked through in a third-set breaker was James Blake, who saved three match points against Marc Gicquel before winning 10-8. Blake played very well, and was a bit more patient than I'd seen him be in these types of tight matches. He was still blowing winners by Gicquel whenever he gets the chance, but he took the time to set up more points than I'm used to seeing. That's a positive for Blake. His first real test comes tonight, though, when he plays Frenchman Gael Monfils. I don't care how late it is, I'm staying up to watch it, since it's a match between two of the best shotmakers in the game. And Monfils has been struggling in his first two rounds, playing six sets and four tiebreaks.
Another high-quality match in Brisbane was Andy Roddick against Carsten Ball. Ball did not play like a challenger-regular whose ranking has never dipped inside the top hundred. For twelve games in the first set and then seven games in the second, there was very little to choose between these two players. However, Roddick showed his variety and his experience in the tiebreak, winning all seven points, and then breaking Ball in the second set before serving out the match. Despite the loss, it should be an encouraging performance for Carsten. No doubt we'll see the big-serving lefty again.
I have to say that the matches in the other three tournaments taking place this week haven't really been at the same level. Most of the players in Chennai and Doha cruised over the past few days, particularly the big three in Doha. However, two of them face their first challenge in the next round, potentially. Federer goes up against Ernests Gulbis, and Davydenko takes on Ivo Karlovic. I expect that both of them will come through those matches, but there's an outside chance of an upset in each.
There were a few matches that had the potential to be exciting, but then didn't deliver. After beating DeHeart in the first round, Younes El Aynaoui excited everyone about his potential to play Nadal, but his body just didn't hold up, and he was vanquished easily by Belgian qualifier Steve Darcis. In Chennai, local hopeful beat former top-ten player Rainer Schuettler in the first round, only to be shut down by Janko Tipsarevic 2 and 1.
American Wayne Odesnik looked to be challenging defending champ Radek Stepanek in Brisbane as well, breaking the wily Czech and serving for the first set. But Odesnik seemed to tweak something in his back, and from that point on, he was never in the match. Additionally, he seemed to repeatedly forget that Brisbane didn't have the hawkeye challenge system in play, and had to be reminded by the umpire twice.
As we move into the final rounds of this first week of the season, I have to wonder how I got by without tennis for two months.
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