The women's final this morning was - I'm sorry to say - a bit of a dud. Serena won, rather handily, as one might expect. I was glad to see Zvonareva free from meltdowns or crying fits, and she was respectful in her post-match comments. I think she was just happy to have made it that far - it's been the best two weeks of her career, for sure - and she wasn't going to let a little thing like losing to the best player in the women's game today. Unfortunately for Vera, the hits just kept on coming as she also lost in the doubles final to the unseeded duo King/Shvedova, and apparently she was unable to keep from breaking down in tears on court there. That's a shame.
Looking ahead to tomorrow's match between the men's finalists, there is a chance that we'll have a repeat performance. Nadal is 7-3 against Tomas Berdych, including winning the last six. The last time Berdych even took a set off Nadal was back in 2006. Now Berdych is playing the best two weeks of tennis he's ever put together - until last month's French Open, the Czech had only been past the fourth round of a grand slam once. And now he's in the Wimbledon final. Will he be able to rise to the occasion?
I hate to say it, but I'm afraid that he won't be able to meet the test of beating Rafael Nadal on this court, in a grand slam final. It's nothing like anything that Berdych has ever been a part of before. Berdych has five titles to his name, but the people he's beaten to win those titles are of a different sort of caliber of player than someone like Rafael Nadal, who is - without question - going down as one of the game's all-time greats.
Berdych was lucky to face Djokovic in the semis, because the Djoker had not been in particularly good form, while Nadal got a real test against Andy Murray. Considering that both matches were about equally difficult for the winners, Nadal's performance was significantly more impressive. If Nadal can manage that kind of form for three sets tomorrow, it's unlikely that Berdych will have any say in the outcome of the match.
This is not to say that Berdych doesn't have a shot. He'll need to play as well as he did against Roger Federer, if not even better, and he'll need to be able to keep it up for an entire match. He'll need to keep from being overcome by the situation, and mental toughness has not been a hallmark of his game. He's going to need to capitalize on every chance that he gets, because he's not going to get very many. It's a big ask for the big man, and I'll be honest - it's tough for me to see him pulling it off, all things considered. But that's why we play the game, after all. I didn't expect him to beat Federer, either, and he did that convincingly. We'll see what happens.
Showing posts with label serena. Show all posts
Showing posts with label serena. Show all posts
Sunday, July 4, 2010
Saturday, July 3, 2010
Wimbledon Day 11
The men's semifinals are complete. Despite being two straight sets victories for the apparent favorites, they were fairly compelling matches, I have to say. Both featured one-break differences in the first and third sets, and very tight tiebreaks in the second. In general, the level of play from all four players was high, but ultimately, the two winners were able to perform more consistently and raise their games at the necessary moments.
Djokovic and Berdych both played some excellent points, but ultimately the biggest difference came down to serving acumen, and the tall Czech player was significantly stronger in this aspect of the game. Djokovic served too many double-faults, and he served them at crucial points in the match - on set point in the second set tiebreak and then at break point to allow Berdych to serve for the match in the third. This was despite some scintillating play to save (or allow Berdych to lose) four set points during that tiebreak. Ultimately, Djokovic has not played enough big matches of late, and this was the biggest one he had played in a very long time, while Berdych has become the surprise big-match player of the year.
The other semi was more hotly contested, though the scoreline is nearly identical. Murray had tens of thousands of his countrymen cheering him on, but that was not enough to get him past the lightning quick movement and bludgeoning forehand of Rafael Nadal. There were several moments in the match where Murray almost made that kind of stunning, game-changing shot that turned the tides of his matches against John Isner and Marin Cilic at the U.S. Open - highlight reel stuff that pumps him up and demoralizes his opponent. But at every instance, Nadal was ready and waiting to return one amazing near-winner with a slightly better reply.
Nadal looked the best he's looked all tournament, skipping around the court so quickly and lightly that it's easy to forget he was slogging his way through the French Open just a month ago, knee-deep in red clay. His forehand was unbelievable - he unleashed on a few shots that, to borrow a phrase from another sport, nearly "tore the cover off the ball." Despite the fact that he's going up against one of the bigger hitters on tour in the final, I find it unlikely that Berdych is going to be able to out-hit Nadal, if he plays this way.
As for tomorrow's women's final, Serena Williams is the clear favorite. No matter how different Zvonareva has looked this week, no matter how stunning her performance in her run to the final, it's nearly impossible to beat Serena in a grand slam final. Maria Sharapova has done it once and her own sister has done it twice, but that's it. Zvonareva's run to the final has been a combination of some mysterious force or event settling her brain, along with a draw that opened up for her at the right points, and some really excellent play when it was required. But I don't know if that will be enough to get her past Serena Williams.
The most dangerous thing for Serena is to assume that is already true, though. Zvonareva's best chance is to surprise the defending champion, catch her off-guard, and hopefully send her reeling long enough to land the knock-out blow. Zvonareva will have to play the match of her life, and Serena will have to be a little bit off her game, for the Russian to manage the upset. It's definitely unlikely, but I wouldn't say it's beyond the realm of possibility. We'll see what happens.
Djokovic and Berdych both played some excellent points, but ultimately the biggest difference came down to serving acumen, and the tall Czech player was significantly stronger in this aspect of the game. Djokovic served too many double-faults, and he served them at crucial points in the match - on set point in the second set tiebreak and then at break point to allow Berdych to serve for the match in the third. This was despite some scintillating play to save (or allow Berdych to lose) four set points during that tiebreak. Ultimately, Djokovic has not played enough big matches of late, and this was the biggest one he had played in a very long time, while Berdych has become the surprise big-match player of the year.
The other semi was more hotly contested, though the scoreline is nearly identical. Murray had tens of thousands of his countrymen cheering him on, but that was not enough to get him past the lightning quick movement and bludgeoning forehand of Rafael Nadal. There were several moments in the match where Murray almost made that kind of stunning, game-changing shot that turned the tides of his matches against John Isner and Marin Cilic at the U.S. Open - highlight reel stuff that pumps him up and demoralizes his opponent. But at every instance, Nadal was ready and waiting to return one amazing near-winner with a slightly better reply.
Nadal looked the best he's looked all tournament, skipping around the court so quickly and lightly that it's easy to forget he was slogging his way through the French Open just a month ago, knee-deep in red clay. His forehand was unbelievable - he unleashed on a few shots that, to borrow a phrase from another sport, nearly "tore the cover off the ball." Despite the fact that he's going up against one of the bigger hitters on tour in the final, I find it unlikely that Berdych is going to be able to out-hit Nadal, if he plays this way.
As for tomorrow's women's final, Serena Williams is the clear favorite. No matter how different Zvonareva has looked this week, no matter how stunning her performance in her run to the final, it's nearly impossible to beat Serena in a grand slam final. Maria Sharapova has done it once and her own sister has done it twice, but that's it. Zvonareva's run to the final has been a combination of some mysterious force or event settling her brain, along with a draw that opened up for her at the right points, and some really excellent play when it was required. But I don't know if that will be enough to get her past Serena Williams.
The most dangerous thing for Serena is to assume that is already true, though. Zvonareva's best chance is to surprise the defending champion, catch her off-guard, and hopefully send her reeling long enough to land the knock-out blow. Zvonareva will have to play the match of her life, and Serena will have to be a little bit off her game, for the Russian to manage the upset. It's definitely unlikely, but I wouldn't say it's beyond the realm of possibility. We'll see what happens.
Friday, July 2, 2010
Wimbledon Days 9 and 10
We're all set for the women's final. I think if you had been told a few weeks ago that a Russian was going to make it to the final at Wimbledon, your list would probably have included Dementieva, Safina, Kuznetsova, maybe Petrova or Kleybanova, maybe even Kirilenko. But Zvonareva looked like she was on the road to total mental breakdown - I was on-site when I saw her play her match at the U.S. Open last year against Flavia Pennetta, where she completely broke down, started bawling on court, and tried to remove her knee wrappings. After that, it was hard to imagine her keeping herself together for a run like this one.
But she's played very well, in upsetting Kim Clijsters and then facing an in-form Bulgarian Pironkova. I was very impressed with her performance, I have to say. She served well and kept her errors to a minimum. Her play was pretty much unrecognizable from the time I watched her on center court nine months ago. She even upset the Williams sisters in doubles this week, as part of the first team to beat the Williams sisters in more than a year. This could be her week - but having to face Serena in the final is no easy task. I'll have more to say about that tomorrow.
The men's semifinals will take place tomorrow, and just like in the quarterfinals, there is one name missing. One side features Nadal and Murray, who both overcome less than ideal starts (though Nadal's was much slower) to beat their quarterfinal opponents in four sets. That's what everyone expected heading into the tournament. And on the other side, Djokovic is in the quarterfinals, which was essentially a guarantee as soon as he beat Hewitt and Roddick flamed out. But facing him, rather than defending champion and seven-time defending finalist Roger Federer, we have the big Czech phenom, Tomas Berdych!
That was an amazing match, honestly. The quarterfinals were generally good (none were classics, but all were interesting in their own way) but Berdych's display was unlike anything I'd ever seen from the big man. At least, it was unlike anything I'd seen from him before in that he maintained his amazing level of play until he had sealed the deal. Before, I've seen him play that well, only to collapse and give it away (see Australian Open 2008). This time Berdych managed to keep up his stellar level of play even when it looked like he might fade away. It wasn't like the match he played against Federer earlier in the year, which Federer essentially gave away with errors and shanked forehands. Berdych played well enough to take this match from the former world number one, who will - shockingly - drop to number three next week.
As for tomorrow's match-ups, Djokovic has not played especially well this fortnight, and has found himself in the semifinals thanks to some intermittent good point and an undeniably favorable draw. He took full advantage of meeting Yen-Hsun Lu in the quarterfinals, dispatching of him easily, but is that the best preparation for a player who just upset Roger Federer? Djokovic is 2-0 against Berdych, but it's hard to say that's enough to really predict the winner of tomorrow's match. Berdych is almost the favorite to win it, at this point. It should be interesting to see if Berdych can keep rolling, or if Djokovic will find his game and make his first Grand Slam final since winning the Australian Open in 2008.
But Nadal-Murray, now that's a tough one to pick. Andy Murray's progress at Wimbledon has been interesting. He's played four times, and each time, he made it a round further. In 2008, he made the quarterfinals after winning a stunning comeback against Richard Gasquet in the 4th round. At that point, he was clearly exhausted and lost to Nadal. They also played at the Australian Open the year before, where Nadal won a long, grinding match, which Murray only lost on fitness, not talent. This year, at the Australian Open, it went the other way, as Nadal's knees gave out on him and Murray made it through.
These two have quite a history, as you can tell, and whichever one of them wins in the semifinals will be the favorite to win the tournament. Nadal, though he may not be 100% fit, just dominated the French Open and still hasn't lost a match here since 2007. In fact, he hasn't lost to anyone not named Federer at Wimbledon since 2005. I'm really excited about this match - can Nadal make the final again, all but sealing his place as World Number One at the end of the year, or will Murray fulfill the British hopes and make it to the final, something that Tim Henman could never do?
There are so many storylines converging in this one match, so many angles - and it's worth noting that these are two stellar tennis players, both at or very near the height of their power. It should be a lot of fun to watch. Here's hoping for a pair of good matches and that no one gets hurt.
But she's played very well, in upsetting Kim Clijsters and then facing an in-form Bulgarian Pironkova. I was very impressed with her performance, I have to say. She served well and kept her errors to a minimum. Her play was pretty much unrecognizable from the time I watched her on center court nine months ago. She even upset the Williams sisters in doubles this week, as part of the first team to beat the Williams sisters in more than a year. This could be her week - but having to face Serena in the final is no easy task. I'll have more to say about that tomorrow.
The men's semifinals will take place tomorrow, and just like in the quarterfinals, there is one name missing. One side features Nadal and Murray, who both overcome less than ideal starts (though Nadal's was much slower) to beat their quarterfinal opponents in four sets. That's what everyone expected heading into the tournament. And on the other side, Djokovic is in the quarterfinals, which was essentially a guarantee as soon as he beat Hewitt and Roddick flamed out. But facing him, rather than defending champion and seven-time defending finalist Roger Federer, we have the big Czech phenom, Tomas Berdych!
That was an amazing match, honestly. The quarterfinals were generally good (none were classics, but all were interesting in their own way) but Berdych's display was unlike anything I'd ever seen from the big man. At least, it was unlike anything I'd seen from him before in that he maintained his amazing level of play until he had sealed the deal. Before, I've seen him play that well, only to collapse and give it away (see Australian Open 2008). This time Berdych managed to keep up his stellar level of play even when it looked like he might fade away. It wasn't like the match he played against Federer earlier in the year, which Federer essentially gave away with errors and shanked forehands. Berdych played well enough to take this match from the former world number one, who will - shockingly - drop to number three next week.
As for tomorrow's match-ups, Djokovic has not played especially well this fortnight, and has found himself in the semifinals thanks to some intermittent good point and an undeniably favorable draw. He took full advantage of meeting Yen-Hsun Lu in the quarterfinals, dispatching of him easily, but is that the best preparation for a player who just upset Roger Federer? Djokovic is 2-0 against Berdych, but it's hard to say that's enough to really predict the winner of tomorrow's match. Berdych is almost the favorite to win it, at this point. It should be interesting to see if Berdych can keep rolling, or if Djokovic will find his game and make his first Grand Slam final since winning the Australian Open in 2008.
But Nadal-Murray, now that's a tough one to pick. Andy Murray's progress at Wimbledon has been interesting. He's played four times, and each time, he made it a round further. In 2008, he made the quarterfinals after winning a stunning comeback against Richard Gasquet in the 4th round. At that point, he was clearly exhausted and lost to Nadal. They also played at the Australian Open the year before, where Nadal won a long, grinding match, which Murray only lost on fitness, not talent. This year, at the Australian Open, it went the other way, as Nadal's knees gave out on him and Murray made it through.
These two have quite a history, as you can tell, and whichever one of them wins in the semifinals will be the favorite to win the tournament. Nadal, though he may not be 100% fit, just dominated the French Open and still hasn't lost a match here since 2007. In fact, he hasn't lost to anyone not named Federer at Wimbledon since 2005. I'm really excited about this match - can Nadal make the final again, all but sealing his place as World Number One at the end of the year, or will Murray fulfill the British hopes and make it to the final, something that Tim Henman could never do?
There are so many storylines converging in this one match, so many angles - and it's worth noting that these are two stellar tennis players, both at or very near the height of their power. It should be a lot of fun to watch. Here's hoping for a pair of good matches and that no one gets hurt.
Wednesday, June 30, 2010
Wimbledon Day 8
The women's quarterfinals were completed today, and there were two pretty shocking upsets. Former champion Venus Williams lost to Bulgarian Tsvetana Pironkova, who had previously won a single match at Wimbledon in four tries. She's now into the semis, where she'll face Vera Zvonareva, who beat Kim Clijsters in another shocking result. Serena's victory over Na Li was pretty straightforward, and her opponent in the semis will be Petra Kvitova. Of the four players remaining in the women's draw, one of them has made it to a grand slam final (Serena) one of the others has made it past the fourth round at a grand slam before (Zvonareva).
At this point, if Serena doesn't take this title, it will be an incredible disappointment. It would always have been the case, but let's be honest here, the players that are left - they're sort of scrubs. I'll be shocked if Serena loses a set in the last two rounds, honestly. Really disappointing for Clijsters and Venus, who were slated to meet in the semis. And it's a shame for the promoters, too - who's going to be beating down the gates to get to the Pironkova_Zvonareva semifinal?
As for the men, the quarterfinals are up tomorrow and we're one player short of having all the top dogs there. The world's top four are present, and they're each facing a tough opponent - with one exception.
Federer takes on Tomas Berdych, who beat Fed at the Olympics in 2004 and this year at Miami, but otherwise has not won a match. He nearly had him at the Australian Open a few years, but duffed an easy volley at break point in the third set, and then was never in the match again. Berdych is finally getting himself together in order to play up to his potential at slams, with a recent semifinal run at the French. It will be a huge shock if he upsets Federer, since Fed, once he struggled through his first few rounds, seem to be back on his feet.
Rafael Nadal gets Robin Soderling, once again. This will be very interesting, as the pair had a very contentious Wimbledon match a few years ago, which - as you may recall - ended with some bad blood between the players. Of course, their recent rivalry is much more interesting, but no matter how soundly Soderling thwacked Nadal at the French last year, Nadal's victory this year in the final was much more emphatic. If it hadn't been for that match against Ferrer, I'd give Robin a chance, but in their last rounds, Nadal looked to be the better player, with Soderling's level of player going up and down - and in his bad patches, he looked really bad. As long as Nadal's knees hold up, and Soderling has a lapse or two or doesn't reach his highest level, then Nadal will come out the victor.
The third quarterfinal is Andy Murray against JW Tsonga, which could be interesting, but probably won't be. Tsonga beat Murray in a thrilling match in the first round of the Australian Open in 2008, the start of his run to the final, but really, Tsonga has not been able to play at that level since that tournament. Murray is the more solid and has looked better this week. Tsonga will have to find some special magic to win this one.
The final quarterfinal, which should have been Novak Djokovic against Andy Roddick instead features... Yun-Tsun Lu? Not much to say, here. Lu's dream run ends at the quarterfinals. There's no way Djokovic is going to make the same mistake that Roddick did, simple as that.
At this point, if Serena doesn't take this title, it will be an incredible disappointment. It would always have been the case, but let's be honest here, the players that are left - they're sort of scrubs. I'll be shocked if Serena loses a set in the last two rounds, honestly. Really disappointing for Clijsters and Venus, who were slated to meet in the semis. And it's a shame for the promoters, too - who's going to be beating down the gates to get to the Pironkova_Zvonareva semifinal?
As for the men, the quarterfinals are up tomorrow and we're one player short of having all the top dogs there. The world's top four are present, and they're each facing a tough opponent - with one exception.
Federer takes on Tomas Berdych, who beat Fed at the Olympics in 2004 and this year at Miami, but otherwise has not won a match. He nearly had him at the Australian Open a few years, but duffed an easy volley at break point in the third set, and then was never in the match again. Berdych is finally getting himself together in order to play up to his potential at slams, with a recent semifinal run at the French. It will be a huge shock if he upsets Federer, since Fed, once he struggled through his first few rounds, seem to be back on his feet.
Rafael Nadal gets Robin Soderling, once again. This will be very interesting, as the pair had a very contentious Wimbledon match a few years ago, which - as you may recall - ended with some bad blood between the players. Of course, their recent rivalry is much more interesting, but no matter how soundly Soderling thwacked Nadal at the French last year, Nadal's victory this year in the final was much more emphatic. If it hadn't been for that match against Ferrer, I'd give Robin a chance, but in their last rounds, Nadal looked to be the better player, with Soderling's level of player going up and down - and in his bad patches, he looked really bad. As long as Nadal's knees hold up, and Soderling has a lapse or two or doesn't reach his highest level, then Nadal will come out the victor.
The third quarterfinal is Andy Murray against JW Tsonga, which could be interesting, but probably won't be. Tsonga beat Murray in a thrilling match in the first round of the Australian Open in 2008, the start of his run to the final, but really, Tsonga has not been able to play at that level since that tournament. Murray is the more solid and has looked better this week. Tsonga will have to find some special magic to win this one.
The final quarterfinal, which should have been Novak Djokovic against Andy Roddick instead features... Yun-Tsun Lu? Not much to say, here. Lu's dream run ends at the quarterfinals. There's no way Djokovic is going to make the same mistake that Roddick did, simple as that.
Wednesday, June 23, 2010
Wimbledon Day 3
In the third day of action at Wimbledon, there was only one story that really mattered: the colossal, stupendous, unbelievable fifth set between John Isner and Nicolas Mahut. It has, by itself, gone on longer than any entire match in Wimbledon history, eclipsing - nay, shattering - dozens of records in the process, and getting so far away from them that it is almost a certainty that these new records will never be surpassed so long as tennis continues to be played.
It's difficult to come up with enough superlatives to describe this match, and it's not even over. Tied at 59-all in the fifth set, the match was suspended on account of darkness for the second time, something which has certainly never happened before without inclement weather being involved. Both players have demolished the record for aces served in a match, with both players on the verge of breaking triple-digits. It's really stunning, and a testament both to the mental fortitude and physical exertion that this sport requires.
For the last forty games or so, Isner looked exhausted. Even though he's fit, he's also a much bigger guy than Mahut is, so continuing to move is tougher for him. But despite not moving his feet and barely even seeming able to walk across the court, Isner kept demolishing serves and blasting forehands, no matter how physically spent he was. Mahut was the fresher player, but there's a reason he's ranked outside the top hundred. It'll be fascinating to see what happens tomorrow - how sore the players are, what their strategies are going to be. Isner has the advantage, serving first. With the break to rest up, I think he'll pull out the win, but in a way, it doesn't matter, because whoever comes out on top will be spent for their next match.
In other, far less interesting news, Davydenko lost to German Daniel Brands. That was the biggest upset of the day, and one of the only results not on court 18 worth talking about. Melanie Oudin and Mardy Fish also lost, so despite Isner's tremendous effort, it was not a great day for Americans. Fish was talking like James Blake after the match, as well. Seemingly aware of the fact that his best days are behind him, he said it was disappointing to have never reached the second week at Wimbledon. And while he is right, I think he still has a shot - albeit an outside one - in the next couple of years.
The best performance by an American came from Andy Roddick, who started the match against Michael Llodra getting brutalized by the Frenchman's big serving and clever net play. But Llodra couldn't keep up his level, and Roddick snuck out the second set, ran away with the third, and dominated the tiebreak in the fourth. It was a smart, strong, and savvy performance from last year's finalist. He also got a bit of a break when his next opponent was decided by a long, brutal slugfest (though those words may have lost some meaning thanks to Isner and Mahut) between Gabashvili and Kohlschreiber. Gabashvili was the more potentially dangerous foe, and he lost 9-7 to the German. Despite a loss to Kohls at the Aussie Open a few years ago, Roddick should be handle what he has to offer.
Tomorrow, there will be some tennis taking place other than the match between Isner and Mahut, shockingly. Murray faces Jarkko Nieminen on center court, likely to be in front of the queen. Nadal and Robin Haase will play third, with the surprising choice of Wozniacki and Chang in the middle. Okay, but you do know that defending champ Serena Williams is playing tomorrow too, right? Oh, she's on court 2. Okay. I won't speculate further on the reasoning behind that decision, because scheduling is very difficult, but it does strike me as odd.
Court 1 should feature a bevy of aces, as Maria Sharapova, Robin Soderling, and Sam Querrey are all in action. I expect all three to get through their matches. There are other good players in action tomorrow - Tsonga, Ferrer, Kuznetsova, Azarenka... but there don't appear to be many obviously exciting match-ups. Of course, that doesn't mean it won't be great tennis, but it's hard for me to get really pumped for Martin Fischer v. Tomaz Bellucci or Xavier Malisse v. Julien Reister. The top half of the men's draw and the bottom half of the women's draw seems to be a lot more exciting, if not necessarily stronger.
What could possibly follow up the spectacle of Day 3 at Wimbledon 2010? Can Isner and Mahut ever finish their match? What other surprises will the day bring?
It's difficult to come up with enough superlatives to describe this match, and it's not even over. Tied at 59-all in the fifth set, the match was suspended on account of darkness for the second time, something which has certainly never happened before without inclement weather being involved. Both players have demolished the record for aces served in a match, with both players on the verge of breaking triple-digits. It's really stunning, and a testament both to the mental fortitude and physical exertion that this sport requires.
For the last forty games or so, Isner looked exhausted. Even though he's fit, he's also a much bigger guy than Mahut is, so continuing to move is tougher for him. But despite not moving his feet and barely even seeming able to walk across the court, Isner kept demolishing serves and blasting forehands, no matter how physically spent he was. Mahut was the fresher player, but there's a reason he's ranked outside the top hundred. It'll be fascinating to see what happens tomorrow - how sore the players are, what their strategies are going to be. Isner has the advantage, serving first. With the break to rest up, I think he'll pull out the win, but in a way, it doesn't matter, because whoever comes out on top will be spent for their next match.
In other, far less interesting news, Davydenko lost to German Daniel Brands. That was the biggest upset of the day, and one of the only results not on court 18 worth talking about. Melanie Oudin and Mardy Fish also lost, so despite Isner's tremendous effort, it was not a great day for Americans. Fish was talking like James Blake after the match, as well. Seemingly aware of the fact that his best days are behind him, he said it was disappointing to have never reached the second week at Wimbledon. And while he is right, I think he still has a shot - albeit an outside one - in the next couple of years.
The best performance by an American came from Andy Roddick, who started the match against Michael Llodra getting brutalized by the Frenchman's big serving and clever net play. But Llodra couldn't keep up his level, and Roddick snuck out the second set, ran away with the third, and dominated the tiebreak in the fourth. It was a smart, strong, and savvy performance from last year's finalist. He also got a bit of a break when his next opponent was decided by a long, brutal slugfest (though those words may have lost some meaning thanks to Isner and Mahut) between Gabashvili and Kohlschreiber. Gabashvili was the more potentially dangerous foe, and he lost 9-7 to the German. Despite a loss to Kohls at the Aussie Open a few years ago, Roddick should be handle what he has to offer.
Tomorrow, there will be some tennis taking place other than the match between Isner and Mahut, shockingly. Murray faces Jarkko Nieminen on center court, likely to be in front of the queen. Nadal and Robin Haase will play third, with the surprising choice of Wozniacki and Chang in the middle. Okay, but you do know that defending champ Serena Williams is playing tomorrow too, right? Oh, she's on court 2. Okay. I won't speculate further on the reasoning behind that decision, because scheduling is very difficult, but it does strike me as odd.
Court 1 should feature a bevy of aces, as Maria Sharapova, Robin Soderling, and Sam Querrey are all in action. I expect all three to get through their matches. There are other good players in action tomorrow - Tsonga, Ferrer, Kuznetsova, Azarenka... but there don't appear to be many obviously exciting match-ups. Of course, that doesn't mean it won't be great tennis, but it's hard for me to get really pumped for Martin Fischer v. Tomaz Bellucci or Xavier Malisse v. Julien Reister. The top half of the men's draw and the bottom half of the women's draw seems to be a lot more exciting, if not necessarily stronger.
What could possibly follow up the spectacle of Day 3 at Wimbledon 2010? Can Isner and Mahut ever finish their match? What other surprises will the day bring?
Sunday, January 31, 2010
Austrian Open Wrap-up
That was a tough final for Andy Murray. He put up a better fight against Federer than he did at the U.S. Open, but only for one set out of three. Granted, that's better than none, but it's just not enough. Murray really should have won that third set on about four occasions. He served for it at 5-4, and in the tiebreak, he made two errors on set point. One, a down-the-line forehand that he sunk into the net, and another a backhand volley that sailed wide. Both were tough but makeable shots.
The idea of the blockbuster final that was expected seemed to vanish pretty early in the match, as Murray came out more defensive than he had played the entire tournament. You could see from the way he was getting Roger involved in slow backhand rallies that he wasn't in the kind of offensive mindset that he'd been in against Nadal. He never quite got to that level, but he did get closer in the third set. A disappointing day for Murray, but Roger turned out to be right in talking smack before the match. He had all the pressure, and he couldn't quite handle it.
Overall, it was an interesting tournament. Despite how much was said about what a wide open field it was and how this was the beginning of a new era in men's tennis, the final results looked a lot like a grand slam from Federer's years of complete dominance. There's no telling how many more of these he's going to win, because he clearly still has the game for it. Twenty titles is by no means an unrealistic goal at this point. Who's going to stand in his way?
Nadal's knees are giving him even worse trouble, and he's going to slide in the rankings after this tournament. Roddick, while more focused than most players when he faces Fed, just doesn't have the game to win. Murray, Djokovic, and a lot of the other young guns tend to just get overawed when they play Federer on a big stage. Del Potro is the only one who has managed a big win over a Roger who isn't ailing, but his long-term health is a question as well.
There weren't that many surprises in this tournament, now that I'm looking back on it. Cilic's run was impressive, but he'd been pegged for this kind of performance for a few years, so it wasn't entirely unexpected, and the draw did open for him, facing injured and tired players in the fourth round and quarterfinals. Davydenko showed once again that he can't beat Federer at a slam. Djokovic had another health problem affecting his play, but to his credit, he didn't pull out of the match. And Nadal's knees are just getting worse.
On the women's side, Justine Henin was by far the best story, but Nadia Petrova showed that she also may be bound for the top ten again. The Serbs and other Russians continued to struggle. The semifinal showings by two Chinese players seemed to indicate that China might be the next Russia, in terms of becoming a new tennis powerhouse. And the Williams sisters continued to keep American tennis relevant on the big stages, with a little (largely unnoticed) help from the Bryan brothers.
So it seems that reports of the new tennis era may have been largely exaggerated.
The idea of the blockbuster final that was expected seemed to vanish pretty early in the match, as Murray came out more defensive than he had played the entire tournament. You could see from the way he was getting Roger involved in slow backhand rallies that he wasn't in the kind of offensive mindset that he'd been in against Nadal. He never quite got to that level, but he did get closer in the third set. A disappointing day for Murray, but Roger turned out to be right in talking smack before the match. He had all the pressure, and he couldn't quite handle it.
Overall, it was an interesting tournament. Despite how much was said about what a wide open field it was and how this was the beginning of a new era in men's tennis, the final results looked a lot like a grand slam from Federer's years of complete dominance. There's no telling how many more of these he's going to win, because he clearly still has the game for it. Twenty titles is by no means an unrealistic goal at this point. Who's going to stand in his way?
Nadal's knees are giving him even worse trouble, and he's going to slide in the rankings after this tournament. Roddick, while more focused than most players when he faces Fed, just doesn't have the game to win. Murray, Djokovic, and a lot of the other young guns tend to just get overawed when they play Federer on a big stage. Del Potro is the only one who has managed a big win over a Roger who isn't ailing, but his long-term health is a question as well.
There weren't that many surprises in this tournament, now that I'm looking back on it. Cilic's run was impressive, but he'd been pegged for this kind of performance for a few years, so it wasn't entirely unexpected, and the draw did open for him, facing injured and tired players in the fourth round and quarterfinals. Davydenko showed once again that he can't beat Federer at a slam. Djokovic had another health problem affecting his play, but to his credit, he didn't pull out of the match. And Nadal's knees are just getting worse.
On the women's side, Justine Henin was by far the best story, but Nadia Petrova showed that she also may be bound for the top ten again. The Serbs and other Russians continued to struggle. The semifinal showings by two Chinese players seemed to indicate that China might be the next Russia, in terms of becoming a new tennis powerhouse. And the Williams sisters continued to keep American tennis relevant on the big stages, with a little (largely unnoticed) help from the Bryan brothers.
So it seems that reports of the new tennis era may have been largely exaggerated.
Saturday, January 30, 2010
Women's final wrap-up and men's final preview
That was quite a final, last night. I'm inclined to say it was one of the better women's grand slam finals of the last three or four years, and if you throw out matches that featured Venus and Serena, it was probably the best for the last half-decade. I was surprised to see the way Henin played against Serena, not the way she had played their previous encounters. She was on the attack just about from the word go, and it very nearly worked. But in the end, Serena's serve and power was just a bit too strong for the Belgian.
But this has to be an encouraging result for Justine. Second tournament back, and she gets to the final and nearly beats the number one player in the world? Watch out at the French Open, which is Henin's best surface and Serena's worst. It will be interesting to see how committed she is to playing the smaller events on the tour, and how well she does at them.
It was a worthy match to decide the championship. If Justine had served a little better or Serena had served a little worse, or if Justine had capitalized on a few more of her break points, it could have swung either way. More than anything else, I root for good tennis, and I got what I was hoping for in that final. Excellent play from both competitors, and in the end, the player who was stronger that day came out on top.
I hope that the men's final tonight is as competitive, but I have my doubts. The most interesting thing going into this final is that Federer, now that he has completed his ascent to the top tier of the tennis pantheon, doesn't seem to mind saying it when he knows how good he is. When asked about the pressure of facing Murray, Federer was anything but deferential to his opponent, one of the few who has a winning record against him on tour today. To Federer, Murray was the one who was playing under all the pressure - the pressure of winning his first grand slam and of ending Britain's three-quarter century-long drought. And he would have to beat the greatest player of all time to do it.
Now, Federer's not wrong in saying anything of this, but he usually is a bit more guarded in his pre-match commentary. I'm used to hearing him say things like, "We've had a lot of tough matches in the past, he's gotten me a few times, so I know I'm going to have to go out there and play my best game to beat him." His candor is both surprising and a bit refreshing, when he doesn't give Murray much of a chance out there.
I'm not sure I do, either. The most relevant matches to look at are the last two, when Federer beat Murray at the end of year championships and last Masters Series tournament before the U.S. Open. The other match, and the one that Federer is going to be looking towards the most, is their meeting in the final of the 2008 U.S. Open, where Fed won in straights. That's their only other meeting in the majors, which is interesting by itself. In that same timeframe (since 2005), Federer and Roddick have met six times in Grand Slams.
In order for Murray to win tonight, he is going to have to be absolutely on the top of his game. His movement, serve, and backhand down the line are all going to have to be firing on all cylinders. He's also going to have to hope that Federer's level drops a bit from where it was in the last two and a half sets against Davydenko, or the entire match against Hewitt.
Fortunately for Murray, in two out of Roger's last three five-set finals, he's wilted in the fifth. He did it against Del Potro in New York and here against Nadal last year. I think that the longer this match goes, the better Murray's chances get. If he can stretch Federer to a fifth, I like his chances. But he has to be careful, and he has to start strong, or else he'll be out of there as quickly as he was the last time they met at this stage, which was 111 minutes.
But this has to be an encouraging result for Justine. Second tournament back, and she gets to the final and nearly beats the number one player in the world? Watch out at the French Open, which is Henin's best surface and Serena's worst. It will be interesting to see how committed she is to playing the smaller events on the tour, and how well she does at them.
It was a worthy match to decide the championship. If Justine had served a little better or Serena had served a little worse, or if Justine had capitalized on a few more of her break points, it could have swung either way. More than anything else, I root for good tennis, and I got what I was hoping for in that final. Excellent play from both competitors, and in the end, the player who was stronger that day came out on top.
I hope that the men's final tonight is as competitive, but I have my doubts. The most interesting thing going into this final is that Federer, now that he has completed his ascent to the top tier of the tennis pantheon, doesn't seem to mind saying it when he knows how good he is. When asked about the pressure of facing Murray, Federer was anything but deferential to his opponent, one of the few who has a winning record against him on tour today. To Federer, Murray was the one who was playing under all the pressure - the pressure of winning his first grand slam and of ending Britain's three-quarter century-long drought. And he would have to beat the greatest player of all time to do it.
Now, Federer's not wrong in saying anything of this, but he usually is a bit more guarded in his pre-match commentary. I'm used to hearing him say things like, "We've had a lot of tough matches in the past, he's gotten me a few times, so I know I'm going to have to go out there and play my best game to beat him." His candor is both surprising and a bit refreshing, when he doesn't give Murray much of a chance out there.
I'm not sure I do, either. The most relevant matches to look at are the last two, when Federer beat Murray at the end of year championships and last Masters Series tournament before the U.S. Open. The other match, and the one that Federer is going to be looking towards the most, is their meeting in the final of the 2008 U.S. Open, where Fed won in straights. That's their only other meeting in the majors, which is interesting by itself. In that same timeframe (since 2005), Federer and Roddick have met six times in Grand Slams.
In order for Murray to win tonight, he is going to have to be absolutely on the top of his game. His movement, serve, and backhand down the line are all going to have to be firing on all cylinders. He's also going to have to hope that Federer's level drops a bit from where it was in the last two and a half sets against Davydenko, or the entire match against Hewitt.
Fortunately for Murray, in two out of Roger's last three five-set finals, he's wilted in the fifth. He did it against Del Potro in New York and here against Nadal last year. I think that the longer this match goes, the better Murray's chances get. If he can stretch Federer to a fifth, I like his chances. But he has to be careful, and he has to start strong, or else he'll be out of there as quickly as he was the last time they met at this stage, which was 111 minutes.
Friday, January 29, 2010
Women's Final Tonight
After Federer breezed through Tsonga last night, there isn't a lot to say today, other than to tell Andy Murray to watch out. Federer himself abandoned most of his pretense at being a humble champion, and went ahead and talked some smack about Murray.
Anyway, moving ahead to the much-anticipated Women's final tonight, it really is a pick-em. Serena Williams is the favorite, as she has every right to be, since she is the world number one and the defending champion. But unranked Justine Henin, in just her second tournament back from retirement, is only a 2.12:1 underdog. Keep in mind that 2:1 is an even coin flip.
Justine has made it to the final, even though she hasn't displayed her most impeccable form. But on-form or not, her opponent has to be tired. Venus and Serena won the doubles title yesterday, and Serena did not look that much the worse for wear, but she has just played so much tennis lately. If she were as fresh as Justine, I'd take Serena on form, no question. As it stands, this has the potential to be one of the most interesting and competitive grand slam finals in recent history.
Or, of course, one of the players could be exhausted (either one, really) and unable to bring her best game, and we'll have another blowout. We'll wait and see what happens on the court.
Anyway, moving ahead to the much-anticipated Women's final tonight, it really is a pick-em. Serena Williams is the favorite, as she has every right to be, since she is the world number one and the defending champion. But unranked Justine Henin, in just her second tournament back from retirement, is only a 2.12:1 underdog. Keep in mind that 2:1 is an even coin flip.
Justine has made it to the final, even though she hasn't displayed her most impeccable form. But on-form or not, her opponent has to be tired. Venus and Serena won the doubles title yesterday, and Serena did not look that much the worse for wear, but she has just played so much tennis lately. If she were as fresh as Justine, I'd take Serena on form, no question. As it stands, this has the potential to be one of the most interesting and competitive grand slam finals in recent history.
Or, of course, one of the players could be exhausted (either one, really) and unable to bring her best game, and we'll have another blowout. We'll wait and see what happens on the court.
Thursday, January 28, 2010
Second semifinal, Australian Open
While the results were about what I expected from yesterday, the routes that the various matches took weren't quite what I thought they would be. Serena Williams struggled against a solid Li Na and was clearly hurting, physically. But after she won in straight sets, she went out with her sister and beat Lisa Raymond and Renee Stubbs in the doubles semifinal. The doubles final is today, and then the women's final is tomorrow. That's a lot of tennis for Serena to play in not a lot of time.
And her opponent in the final is going to be relatively fresh, as Justine Henin breezed through Zheng Jie, dropping only one game in the process. It would be a shame if the first meeting between these two champions in a major final featured a Serena who was at less than her best, but we'll see. Nadal should have been exhausted in last year's final as well, but he found a way to come out on top.
The men's semi from yesterday looked like it was going to be a repeat of the Murray-Cilic match from last year's U.S. Open, with Murray coming out tentative and Cilic coming out on fire. But Murray upped his game and his offense, while Cilic just ran out of gas. A great first run to the semifinals for the young Croat, and I expect we'll see him here again.
For tonight, Federer plays Tsonga. The pair have a 1-1 record, but their last meeting was one of the craziest ones from 2009. After Tsonga took the first set at Montreal in a tiebreak, Federer stepped it up. He took the second set 6-1, and then was up 5-1 in the third. Suddenly, amazingly, he took his foot off the gas, and Tsonga break Fed while he was serving for the match, twice. He then took the third in a tiebreak.
I don't expect Federer to drop off like that in this semifinal, and Tsonga has to be exhausted, after winning the first two five-set matches of his career in the last two rounds. It seems like a Murray-Federer final is all but a sure thing at this point. Unless J.W. "Ali" Tsonga can get back to the gear he was playing at two years ago at this tournament, but honestly, I haven't seen him play that well since.
And her opponent in the final is going to be relatively fresh, as Justine Henin breezed through Zheng Jie, dropping only one game in the process. It would be a shame if the first meeting between these two champions in a major final featured a Serena who was at less than her best, but we'll see. Nadal should have been exhausted in last year's final as well, but he found a way to come out on top.
The men's semi from yesterday looked like it was going to be a repeat of the Murray-Cilic match from last year's U.S. Open, with Murray coming out tentative and Cilic coming out on fire. But Murray upped his game and his offense, while Cilic just ran out of gas. A great first run to the semifinals for the young Croat, and I expect we'll see him here again.
For tonight, Federer plays Tsonga. The pair have a 1-1 record, but their last meeting was one of the craziest ones from 2009. After Tsonga took the first set at Montreal in a tiebreak, Federer stepped it up. He took the second set 6-1, and then was up 5-1 in the third. Suddenly, amazingly, he took his foot off the gas, and Tsonga break Fed while he was serving for the match, twice. He then took the third in a tiebreak.
I don't expect Federer to drop off like that in this semifinal, and Tsonga has to be exhausted, after winning the first two five-set matches of his career in the last two rounds. It seems like a Murray-Federer final is all but a sure thing at this point. Unless J.W. "Ali" Tsonga can get back to the gear he was playing at two years ago at this tournament, but honestly, I haven't seen him play that well since.
Monday, January 18, 2010
Matches to Watch - Day 2
Well, day one had its fair share of excitement, despite the weather in Melbourne not cooperating. The line-up wasn't completed on any court save for the two covered that had retractable roofs. There were some excellent matches though, and two seeded
players upset.
On the men's side, the upset was not a huge shock, as Radek Stepanek lost to Ivo Karlovic in five sets. It was revenge for the Davis Cup loss last year, so good for Dr. Ivo. It's a shame for Stepanek, who made the final in Brisbane in the lead-up to the Aussie Open. Another player on the men's side who had a good warm-up tournament was Mardy Fish, who took eventual champion Marcos Baghdatis to three tight sets. Fish lost to Andrey Golubev, ranked 131 in the world. It looked like a pretty sloppy match, with both players making at least 50 unforced errors. But Fish hit only 16 winners to Golubev's 44. It may have been the heavy conditions and the frequent rain delays, but Mardy has to be disappointed.
But I bet he's not as disappointed as Maria Sharapova, who lost to friend and fellow Russian Maria Kirilenko. In one of the longest women's matches in Australian Open history, it wasn't Sharapova's double faults that did her in, like at the US Open last year. Eleven is a lot of double faults, but it is half as many as Sharapova had in her loss to Melanie Oudin. It was Sharapova's 77 unforced errors that did it, and when they occurred. She actually won more points than Kirilenko, but she didn't win the ones she needed to.
Other seeds and favorites cruised - the ones that got to play their matches, anyway. In addition to the matches I made note of yesterday that haven't finished yet, here are some other matches to watch on Day 2.
Roger Federer v. Igor Andreev - This is among Federer's tougher first-round matchups at Grand Slams in recent years. Andreev is a big-hitter with one of the biggest forehands in the game. But he knows that's his biggest shot, and he'll go well out of his way to avoid hitting his backhand. Watch for Rajah to send most of his balls to that side, and then hit a ton of winners down the line when Andreev runs around his weaker shot to rip a forehand.
Fernando Verdasco v. Carsten Ball - It's tough to be an up-and-coming young player if you keep getting paired with unreasonably difficult first rounds. Carsten is poised for a breakthrough, but he won't be able to do it against last year's semifinalist and recent winner of the Kooyong exhibition. Verdasco is also a lefty with a big serve, so Ball won't have as much of an advantage as he usually does.
Richard Gasquet v. Mikhail Youzhny - Both of these players are grand slam semifinalists who aren't playing their best tennis at the moment. Both of them are extremely talented, with beautiful one-handed backhands, while both lack the mental fortitude of some of their more successful peers. While Gasquet has the edge in artistry and shot-making ability, Youzhny has more pace on his shots. It should be a good contest.
Christophe Rochus v. Donald Young - While Olivier's match against Fernando Gonzalez didn't turn out to be quite as tight as I thought it might be, the elder, taller, and less successful Rochus has a much better chance against the young American Young. But "the Donald" definitely wants to put his frustrations behind him, and he couldn't have gotten much better than the lesser Rochus brother. While these aren't the two greatest players to meet today, they should still be closely matched, so it could be a good match.
Barbara Zahlavova vs. Virginia Kulikova - A match set to finish from yesterday, these two relatively unknown Eastern Europeans (a Russian and a Czech) are at 4-3 in the third set, after the first two went to tiebreaks. The first breaker was 7-5 and the second was 12-10. Since there's no tiebreaker in the third set, this match could go on all day.
John Isner v. Andreas Seppi - Isner is riding high, having just won his first title, while Seppi is the very talented but easily frustrated Italian player who probably hasn't lived up to his talent. The only concern for Isner in this match is that he may be tired from the last week, but otherwise, he should ace his way past Seppi without a great of trouble.
Also watch for the Williams sisters in action. Serena's first grand slam match after her meltdown in New York should be interesting. I expect that the Australian fans will have (rightly) forgotten about that event, and welcome their defending champion back with open arms.
players upset.
On the men's side, the upset was not a huge shock, as Radek Stepanek lost to Ivo Karlovic in five sets. It was revenge for the Davis Cup loss last year, so good for Dr. Ivo. It's a shame for Stepanek, who made the final in Brisbane in the lead-up to the Aussie Open. Another player on the men's side who had a good warm-up tournament was Mardy Fish, who took eventual champion Marcos Baghdatis to three tight sets. Fish lost to Andrey Golubev, ranked 131 in the world. It looked like a pretty sloppy match, with both players making at least 50 unforced errors. But Fish hit only 16 winners to Golubev's 44. It may have been the heavy conditions and the frequent rain delays, but Mardy has to be disappointed.
But I bet he's not as disappointed as Maria Sharapova, who lost to friend and fellow Russian Maria Kirilenko. In one of the longest women's matches in Australian Open history, it wasn't Sharapova's double faults that did her in, like at the US Open last year. Eleven is a lot of double faults, but it is half as many as Sharapova had in her loss to Melanie Oudin. It was Sharapova's 77 unforced errors that did it, and when they occurred. She actually won more points than Kirilenko, but she didn't win the ones she needed to.
Other seeds and favorites cruised - the ones that got to play their matches, anyway. In addition to the matches I made note of yesterday that haven't finished yet, here are some other matches to watch on Day 2.
Roger Federer v. Igor Andreev - This is among Federer's tougher first-round matchups at Grand Slams in recent years. Andreev is a big-hitter with one of the biggest forehands in the game. But he knows that's his biggest shot, and he'll go well out of his way to avoid hitting his backhand. Watch for Rajah to send most of his balls to that side, and then hit a ton of winners down the line when Andreev runs around his weaker shot to rip a forehand.
Fernando Verdasco v. Carsten Ball - It's tough to be an up-and-coming young player if you keep getting paired with unreasonably difficult first rounds. Carsten is poised for a breakthrough, but he won't be able to do it against last year's semifinalist and recent winner of the Kooyong exhibition. Verdasco is also a lefty with a big serve, so Ball won't have as much of an advantage as he usually does.
Richard Gasquet v. Mikhail Youzhny - Both of these players are grand slam semifinalists who aren't playing their best tennis at the moment. Both of them are extremely talented, with beautiful one-handed backhands, while both lack the mental fortitude of some of their more successful peers. While Gasquet has the edge in artistry and shot-making ability, Youzhny has more pace on his shots. It should be a good contest.
Christophe Rochus v. Donald Young - While Olivier's match against Fernando Gonzalez didn't turn out to be quite as tight as I thought it might be, the elder, taller, and less successful Rochus has a much better chance against the young American Young. But "the Donald" definitely wants to put his frustrations behind him, and he couldn't have gotten much better than the lesser Rochus brother. While these aren't the two greatest players to meet today, they should still be closely matched, so it could be a good match.
Barbara Zahlavova vs. Virginia Kulikova - A match set to finish from yesterday, these two relatively unknown Eastern Europeans (a Russian and a Czech) are at 4-3 in the third set, after the first two went to tiebreaks. The first breaker was 7-5 and the second was 12-10. Since there's no tiebreaker in the third set, this match could go on all day.
John Isner v. Andreas Seppi - Isner is riding high, having just won his first title, while Seppi is the very talented but easily frustrated Italian player who probably hasn't lived up to his talent. The only concern for Isner in this match is that he may be tired from the last week, but otherwise, he should ace his way past Seppi without a great of trouble.
Also watch for the Williams sisters in action. Serena's first grand slam match after her meltdown in New York should be interesting. I expect that the Australian fans will have (rightly) forgotten about that event, and welcome their defending champion back with open arms.
Friday, January 15, 2010
Finals Week 2 - Best Match of the Year So Far!
I'm not talking about the Serena Williams - Elena Dementieva final in Sydney, which actually turned out to be a bit of a dud, but the men's semifinal which preceded it. Marcos Baghdatis and Mardy Fish went on for nearly three hours and two tiebreak sets. In the end, it was decided on an error from Fish - but not a shotmaking error. In fact, he had hit a spectacular cross-court pass that probably would have forced Baghdatis to miss his shot, but Fish challenged the call on the baseline. In the end, the "in" call had been correct, and Fish lost the point.
This was at 3-all in the third set tiebreak, and Baghdatis won both of his points on serve, giving him three match points. Fish gamely defended the first two on his own deal, but lost the third. It was the 243rd point of the match, and it was a fitting end. Despite how well Fish fought, Baghdatis had been slightly better the entire day. Both players were on their games for nearly the entire match, and there was some spectacular shot-making. Baggy's backhand half-volley winner from the baseline springs to mind, as does Fish's sacrificial diving volley on break point. Great match, all around. Bother players should be encouraged going into the AO with that kind of performance.
However, I don't give Baghdatis too much of a shot against Gasquet, who had a much easier time against Julien Benneateau even though he wasn't playing very well. But Baghdatis has to be tired, and Gasquet should be relatively fresh. It could be a good final, though.
But there's a chance it will be as much of a letdown as the highly-touted women's final. Serena seemed hobbled, and Dementieva was solid, winning 6-3, 6-2. Serena still has not won a regular tour event since April 2008, and Dementieva should have some confidence going into next week's major, having beaten the world's top two players. If it were anyone but Serena, I would say this hurts her chances of defending her title in Melbourne, but I've learned that her performance outside the slams really has no impact on her performance in them.
In Auckland, the last two seeds fell, with John Isner beating Albert Montanes and Arnaud Clement beating Philipp Kohlschreiber. Isner and Clement have now each beaten three seeds and will meet in the final for the first time. Isner is more than a foot taller than Clement, but this will be tight. Clement hasn't won a title since 2006, and Isner hasn't won a title ever. This is only his second final, after he made a dream run to the Washington final in 2007 in one of his first pro tournaments. I'm picking the big man to win his first title, but Clement is such a smart player, anything could happen.
This was at 3-all in the third set tiebreak, and Baghdatis won both of his points on serve, giving him three match points. Fish gamely defended the first two on his own deal, but lost the third. It was the 243rd point of the match, and it was a fitting end. Despite how well Fish fought, Baghdatis had been slightly better the entire day. Both players were on their games for nearly the entire match, and there was some spectacular shot-making. Baggy's backhand half-volley winner from the baseline springs to mind, as does Fish's sacrificial diving volley on break point. Great match, all around. Bother players should be encouraged going into the AO with that kind of performance.
However, I don't give Baghdatis too much of a shot against Gasquet, who had a much easier time against Julien Benneateau even though he wasn't playing very well. But Baghdatis has to be tired, and Gasquet should be relatively fresh. It could be a good final, though.
But there's a chance it will be as much of a letdown as the highly-touted women's final. Serena seemed hobbled, and Dementieva was solid, winning 6-3, 6-2. Serena still has not won a regular tour event since April 2008, and Dementieva should have some confidence going into next week's major, having beaten the world's top two players. If it were anyone but Serena, I would say this hurts her chances of defending her title in Melbourne, but I've learned that her performance outside the slams really has no impact on her performance in them.
In Auckland, the last two seeds fell, with John Isner beating Albert Montanes and Arnaud Clement beating Philipp Kohlschreiber. Isner and Clement have now each beaten three seeds and will meet in the final for the first time. Isner is more than a foot taller than Clement, but this will be tight. Clement hasn't won a title since 2006, and Isner hasn't won a title ever. This is only his second final, after he made a dream run to the Washington final in 2007 in one of his first pro tournaments. I'm picking the big man to win his first title, but Clement is such a smart player, anything could happen.
Thursday, January 14, 2010
Semifinals Week 2
There was one big upset yesterday, and one almost-upset. In Auckland, John Isner avenged his defeat at the Hopman Cup by Tommy Robredo, beating the Spaniard in three tight sets. Isner hit twenty aces, but even more surprisingly, broke Robredo three times! I'd consider this a very impressive win for the big American, and while I don't put him in contention for winning the Aussie Open (that field is big enough already) I do think he can build on his win over Andy Roddick last September by upsetting another big seed.
The near-upset came at Sydney, when Serena Williams was nearly defeated by Aravane Rezai. Down a set and 5-3, Rezai served for the match, but couldn't close the door. Afterward, she said she wasn't impressed by Serena, and that she could have won. If Serena had been the one to break her while she was serving, or if she had gotten the break on a net cord winner or something, I could see her saying this. As it stands, she gave it away when she had the match in hand, so it seemed pretty classless to denigrate her opponent after choking. Still, it was an impressive performance when I had considered the match to be a mere formality.
The other semifinal was supposed to be more competitive, but turned out to be boring. Dementieva plowed through Azarenka, setting up the best final that we could have asked for. Serena and Dementieva played one of the best matches on the women's tour last year, so they could rival the Clijsters-Henin final of last week. Serena's looking to break her streak of not winning a regular tour event, while Dementieva wants everyone to know that she's in the hunt at the Aussie Open, this year. It's a big match.
Also in Sydney, the last seed on the men's side fell, when Baghditis beat Lleyton Hewitt in three tight sets. It wasn't quite as epic as their clash at last year's Aussie Open, but it was an impressive performance from both. Hewitt looked like the Hewitt of old during the first set, but then Baggy played like the guy who made the 2006 final in the next two.
Hewitt was the second-last Australian in the draw, but the last one didn't hang around much longer. Thirty-year old Peter Luczak fell to Mardy Fish in the night match, in another tight contest. In the end, Fish made a few too many shots, Luczak made a few too many errors, and he went to the drop shot well a few too many times. Still, an impressive show from the Aussie who is experiencing his greatest ever run after most players are considering retirement.
As a result, Fish plays Baghdatis in a rematch of last week's Brisbane first round. That was a tough one, with Baggy winning 7-5, 7-5, and as John Isner has just demonstrated, a player can lose one week and win the next. That should be an exciting semifinal.
The other semi could be the match that Serena-Rezia should have been, as Richard Gasquet faces Julien Benneteau. They played at this tournament, two years, and Gasquet won easily. He should do so, again. If "Baby Fed" doesn't win this match, he's going to be very disappointed with his showing.
The other most important thing to note is that Juan Martin Del Potro pulled out of his match against JW Tsonga at the AAMI Kooyong exhibition tournament, citing a wrist injury. He's been troubled by tendinitis before, so maybe he's just being careful. Then again, this could affect his chances at next week's Open. So the final at Kooyong will be Verdasco, who breezed past Djokovic (pun intended, they were playing in ridiculous winds) and Tsonga. Both players have done well at the Australian Open, but both also have a lot to prove.
The near-upset came at Sydney, when Serena Williams was nearly defeated by Aravane Rezai. Down a set and 5-3, Rezai served for the match, but couldn't close the door. Afterward, she said she wasn't impressed by Serena, and that she could have won. If Serena had been the one to break her while she was serving, or if she had gotten the break on a net cord winner or something, I could see her saying this. As it stands, she gave it away when she had the match in hand, so it seemed pretty classless to denigrate her opponent after choking. Still, it was an impressive performance when I had considered the match to be a mere formality.
The other semifinal was supposed to be more competitive, but turned out to be boring. Dementieva plowed through Azarenka, setting up the best final that we could have asked for. Serena and Dementieva played one of the best matches on the women's tour last year, so they could rival the Clijsters-Henin final of last week. Serena's looking to break her streak of not winning a regular tour event, while Dementieva wants everyone to know that she's in the hunt at the Aussie Open, this year. It's a big match.
Also in Sydney, the last seed on the men's side fell, when Baghditis beat Lleyton Hewitt in three tight sets. It wasn't quite as epic as their clash at last year's Aussie Open, but it was an impressive performance from both. Hewitt looked like the Hewitt of old during the first set, but then Baggy played like the guy who made the 2006 final in the next two.
Hewitt was the second-last Australian in the draw, but the last one didn't hang around much longer. Thirty-year old Peter Luczak fell to Mardy Fish in the night match, in another tight contest. In the end, Fish made a few too many shots, Luczak made a few too many errors, and he went to the drop shot well a few too many times. Still, an impressive show from the Aussie who is experiencing his greatest ever run after most players are considering retirement.
As a result, Fish plays Baghdatis in a rematch of last week's Brisbane first round. That was a tough one, with Baggy winning 7-5, 7-5, and as John Isner has just demonstrated, a player can lose one week and win the next. That should be an exciting semifinal.
The other semi could be the match that Serena-Rezia should have been, as Richard Gasquet faces Julien Benneteau. They played at this tournament, two years, and Gasquet won easily. He should do so, again. If "Baby Fed" doesn't win this match, he's going to be very disappointed with his showing.
The other most important thing to note is that Juan Martin Del Potro pulled out of his match against JW Tsonga at the AAMI Kooyong exhibition tournament, citing a wrist injury. He's been troubled by tendinitis before, so maybe he's just being careful. Then again, this could affect his chances at next week's Open. So the final at Kooyong will be Verdasco, who breezed past Djokovic (pun intended, they were playing in ridiculous winds) and Tsonga. Both players have done well at the Australian Open, but both also have a lot to prove.
Wednesday, January 13, 2010
Week 2 Quarterfinals
It seems like most of the tour has shut down in anticipation of the Australian Open starting next week.
In Sydney, the men's draw has just fallen apart. Two seeds withdrew, and five of the remaining lost by the third round. The only seed remaining is Lleyton Hewitt, who unfortunately has to play one of the other contenders in the quarterfinals, Cypriot Marcos Baghdatis. You may remember that Hewitt and Baghdatis played a match at the Australian Open last year that went until 4:30 in the morning. It seems unlikely that this meeting will be quite as epic, but the winner will have a good chance of winning the tournament.
The other two players who have a realistic shot at the win are Mardy Fish, who would play the winner of Hewitt-Baggy in the semis, and Richard Gasquet, who is all alone in his half of the draw. If he doesn't make the final at least, this week will be a disappointment. The other three players left in his half are Starace, Benneateau, and Mayer, fine players all but Gasquet needs to be able to beat them without too much trouble if he wants to get back to the top tier of the game.
The women's side of the draw remains a bit more competitive, with three seeds making it to the semifinals. Serena Williams blew through her opponent Vera Dushevina 2 and 2, which is not a surprise. What is a surprise is that Elena Dementieva beat Dinara Safina by almost that same margin. Now Williams plays Rezai in a formality of a match, while Dementieva plays Azarenka for the chance to face Serena in the final. It seems like Serena's victory should be a foregone conclusion, but she hasn't won a regular tour title (discounting grand slams or end-of-year championships) since April of 2008. She sure looks poised to break that streak, though.
In Auckland, there's an interesting quarterfinal match between John Isner and Tommy Robredo, which is a rematch of their tough three-setter last week in the Hopman Cup. Robredo came out on top in that contest, but he's played a lot more tennis in the interim. It could be a good match.
Finally, I've just set up a twitter account, from which I'll be posting updates to this blog as well as live commentary on some matches, in the future. Check me out at http://twitter.com/matchpointace !
In Sydney, the men's draw has just fallen apart. Two seeds withdrew, and five of the remaining lost by the third round. The only seed remaining is Lleyton Hewitt, who unfortunately has to play one of the other contenders in the quarterfinals, Cypriot Marcos Baghdatis. You may remember that Hewitt and Baghdatis played a match at the Australian Open last year that went until 4:30 in the morning. It seems unlikely that this meeting will be quite as epic, but the winner will have a good chance of winning the tournament.
The other two players who have a realistic shot at the win are Mardy Fish, who would play the winner of Hewitt-Baggy in the semis, and Richard Gasquet, who is all alone in his half of the draw. If he doesn't make the final at least, this week will be a disappointment. The other three players left in his half are Starace, Benneateau, and Mayer, fine players all but Gasquet needs to be able to beat them without too much trouble if he wants to get back to the top tier of the game.
The women's side of the draw remains a bit more competitive, with three seeds making it to the semifinals. Serena Williams blew through her opponent Vera Dushevina 2 and 2, which is not a surprise. What is a surprise is that Elena Dementieva beat Dinara Safina by almost that same margin. Now Williams plays Rezai in a formality of a match, while Dementieva plays Azarenka for the chance to face Serena in the final. It seems like Serena's victory should be a foregone conclusion, but she hasn't won a regular tour title (discounting grand slams or end-of-year championships) since April of 2008. She sure looks poised to break that streak, though.
In Auckland, there's an interesting quarterfinal match between John Isner and Tommy Robredo, which is a rematch of their tough three-setter last week in the Hopman Cup. Robredo came out on top in that contest, but he's played a lot more tennis in the interim. It could be a good match.
Finally, I've just set up a twitter account, from which I'll be posting updates to this blog as well as live commentary on some matches, in the future. Check me out at http://twitter.com/matchpointace !
Tuesday, January 12, 2010
Noteworthy upsets and withdrawals plus Aussie Open quallies!
The second week of the season has featured a few surprising upsets and not-so-surprising withdrawals, but I'd imagine the tournament organizers were none too happy to see these players out of their tournaments before Wednesday.
Nalbandian withdrew from Auckland before playing his match against Kohlschreiber, which I think puts the Argentine in doubt for the Australian Open, since this would have been his only tune-up event. Gael Monfils also withdrew from Sydney, which is not so much of a surprise, considering how heavily he was taped last week in Brisbane. Vera Zvonerava also stopped her match against Elena Vesnina after only six games with an ankle injury. This is on top of Justine Henin and Roger Federer withdrawing from their events, earlier in the week.
In Sydney, Evgeny Korolev beat Sam Querrey in the first round, which will mean that the recently-injured American will be 0-2 going into the first grand slam of the year, which is certainly not the way he would have wanted to start out his year, I'm sure. The Bryan Brothers also lost to first time doubles pairing Wassen and Zeballos, which was definitely a shock. On the women's side, Dominika Cibulkova beat third-seeded (and ranked) Svetlana Kuznetsova, Aggi Szavay beat Jelena Jankovic, and Na Li beat fourth-seed Caroline Wozniacki, so the upset bug is all over.
It just goes to show that some of the top players have trouble finding their form at the very start of the season, which is why the Australian Open often has the most surprising winners and finalists of any of the grand slams.
With all these upsets and withdrawals, some players are getting an easy route through their tournaments. Serena Williams can't face another seed until the final, for example. Others are not so lucky. The bottom quarterfinal of the women's draw in Sydney will feature Elena Dementieva against Dinara Safina, which has the potential to be an exciting match, or at least a good bellwether of how these two players' years are starting.
In Kooyong, the organizers were apparently unable to woo either of the Andys into playing the full three days, so they ended up replacing Roger Federer with Ivan Ljubicic, who is a fine player, but probably not what they had hoped for this year. So the Kooyong matchups are Djokovic-Haas, Fernando-Fernando, Soderling-Tsonga, and Ljubicic-Del Potro. It will be interesting to see who out of that group of top players has started the year on form.
Looking to the Aussie Open qualifying draw, there are some very interesting first-round matches. The quallies are incredibly important to the players in them, because getting a few rounds in a grand slam is the best way to rack up a chunk of points for the following year, but you have to win these mini-tournaments to have a chance. Here's my list of significant match-ups:
Xavier Malisse-Alex Kuznetsov, Marc Lopez-Donald Young, Josselin Ouanna-Joseph Sirianni, Yuki Bhambri-Jan Minar, Ryler DeHeart-Stefan Koubek, Grigor Dimitrov-Robert Kendrick, and Peter Polansky-Marcel Ilhan. Sixteen out of these 128 players will get into the main draw, which is a tough cut. There are a ton of up-and-coming players here, as well as more establish challenger pros who are knocking at the door of the top 100. It should be fun to see who makes it through.
Nalbandian withdrew from Auckland before playing his match against Kohlschreiber, which I think puts the Argentine in doubt for the Australian Open, since this would have been his only tune-up event. Gael Monfils also withdrew from Sydney, which is not so much of a surprise, considering how heavily he was taped last week in Brisbane. Vera Zvonerava also stopped her match against Elena Vesnina after only six games with an ankle injury. This is on top of Justine Henin and Roger Federer withdrawing from their events, earlier in the week.
In Sydney, Evgeny Korolev beat Sam Querrey in the first round, which will mean that the recently-injured American will be 0-2 going into the first grand slam of the year, which is certainly not the way he would have wanted to start out his year, I'm sure. The Bryan Brothers also lost to first time doubles pairing Wassen and Zeballos, which was definitely a shock. On the women's side, Dominika Cibulkova beat third-seeded (and ranked) Svetlana Kuznetsova, Aggi Szavay beat Jelena Jankovic, and Na Li beat fourth-seed Caroline Wozniacki, so the upset bug is all over.
It just goes to show that some of the top players have trouble finding their form at the very start of the season, which is why the Australian Open often has the most surprising winners and finalists of any of the grand slams.
With all these upsets and withdrawals, some players are getting an easy route through their tournaments. Serena Williams can't face another seed until the final, for example. Others are not so lucky. The bottom quarterfinal of the women's draw in Sydney will feature Elena Dementieva against Dinara Safina, which has the potential to be an exciting match, or at least a good bellwether of how these two players' years are starting.
In Kooyong, the organizers were apparently unable to woo either of the Andys into playing the full three days, so they ended up replacing Roger Federer with Ivan Ljubicic, who is a fine player, but probably not what they had hoped for this year. So the Kooyong matchups are Djokovic-Haas, Fernando-Fernando, Soderling-Tsonga, and Ljubicic-Del Potro. It will be interesting to see who out of that group of top players has started the year on form.
Looking to the Aussie Open qualifying draw, there are some very interesting first-round matches. The quallies are incredibly important to the players in them, because getting a few rounds in a grand slam is the best way to rack up a chunk of points for the following year, but you have to win these mini-tournaments to have a chance. Here's my list of significant match-ups:
Xavier Malisse-Alex Kuznetsov, Marc Lopez-Donald Young, Josselin Ouanna-Joseph Sirianni, Yuki Bhambri-Jan Minar, Ryler DeHeart-Stefan Koubek, Grigor Dimitrov-Robert Kendrick, and Peter Polansky-Marcel Ilhan. Sixteen out of these 128 players will get into the main draw, which is a tough cut. There are a ton of up-and-coming players here, as well as more establish challenger pros who are knocking at the door of the top 100. It should be fun to see who makes it through.
Monday, October 26, 2009
WTA Tour Championships in Doha
Amidst all the complaining among players on the ATP tour about the length of the season, and the inevitable backlash, it's easy to forget that the WTA, which starts at the same time as the ATP, is finishing up its season this week. That is a month before the ATP's year-end championships. A bit curious, don't you think?
The format in Doha is the same as it has been for the past several years - the top eight players are split into two groups, with each player facing the other three women in her group in round robin matches. The top two players from each group then advance to the semifinals, which then plays out like a normal tournament. Understandably, the way the two groups are split ends up being essential to the way the tournament unfolds.
The most interesting thing that happened in the rankings this week (and the top ten were going crazy, as we'll see) was that Dinara Safina moved back ahead of Serene Williams to reclaim the number one spot. I don't pretend to understand the way that the WTA rankings system works - it doesn't make sense to me, since Serena didn't do anything after the U.S. Open in 2008, so I don't know why points would drop off, but in any case, Safina is back in the top spot. But whoever advances further in the year-end championship will finish the year as number one. A draw (should both players fail to make the semifinals, for example) goes to Safina, I think. But again, I could be wrong.
So how are the top two players' chances, from the looks of things? Of course, the competition is going to be tough, since this is the top eight players in the world, but the draw seems very, very lopsided. The Maroon group features both of the Williams, both of the slam winners from the past year who are in the top 8 (Serena and Kuznetsova - Clijsters obviously is not ranked that highly), and the fourth player in the group is the best active women's tennis player to have never won a slam, Elena Dementieva, who participated in the best match of the year on the women's side, in her semifinal against Serena at Wimbledon.
The opposite group, the White group (which doesn't feature the Williams sisters, remember) has wayward world number one Dinara Safina, U.S. Open finalist Caroline Wozniacki, Belarussian teenager Victoria Azarenka, and Jelena Jankovic, who squeaked in to the top eight by a razor-thing margin. Just for the record, the Maroon group has 34 grand slam final appearances, 20 grand slam titles, and 2 Olympic Gold Medals. The White group has 5 grand slam finals and no major titles. As I said, maybe a bit lopsided?
Of course, when things are this lop-sided, the players from the Maroon group might kill each other in the round robin and then be exhausted by the semifinals. But the much younger and relatively unproven group does have some up-and-coming talents, as well as players who are anxious to show the world that they deserve to be respected. These are the best eight players in the world right now, and there's no doubt that there is a possibility for some scintillating tennis. I'm looking forward to it.
The format in Doha is the same as it has been for the past several years - the top eight players are split into two groups, with each player facing the other three women in her group in round robin matches. The top two players from each group then advance to the semifinals, which then plays out like a normal tournament. Understandably, the way the two groups are split ends up being essential to the way the tournament unfolds.
The most interesting thing that happened in the rankings this week (and the top ten were going crazy, as we'll see) was that Dinara Safina moved back ahead of Serene Williams to reclaim the number one spot. I don't pretend to understand the way that the WTA rankings system works - it doesn't make sense to me, since Serena didn't do anything after the U.S. Open in 2008, so I don't know why points would drop off, but in any case, Safina is back in the top spot. But whoever advances further in the year-end championship will finish the year as number one. A draw (should both players fail to make the semifinals, for example) goes to Safina, I think. But again, I could be wrong.
So how are the top two players' chances, from the looks of things? Of course, the competition is going to be tough, since this is the top eight players in the world, but the draw seems very, very lopsided. The Maroon group features both of the Williams, both of the slam winners from the past year who are in the top 8 (Serena and Kuznetsova - Clijsters obviously is not ranked that highly), and the fourth player in the group is the best active women's tennis player to have never won a slam, Elena Dementieva, who participated in the best match of the year on the women's side, in her semifinal against Serena at Wimbledon.
The opposite group, the White group (which doesn't feature the Williams sisters, remember) has wayward world number one Dinara Safina, U.S. Open finalist Caroline Wozniacki, Belarussian teenager Victoria Azarenka, and Jelena Jankovic, who squeaked in to the top eight by a razor-thing margin. Just for the record, the Maroon group has 34 grand slam final appearances, 20 grand slam titles, and 2 Olympic Gold Medals. The White group has 5 grand slam finals and no major titles. As I said, maybe a bit lopsided?
Of course, when things are this lop-sided, the players from the Maroon group might kill each other in the round robin and then be exhausted by the semifinals. But the much younger and relatively unproven group does have some up-and-coming talents, as well as players who are anxious to show the world that they deserve to be respected. These are the best eight players in the world right now, and there's no doubt that there is a possibility for some scintillating tennis. I'm looking forward to it.
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