Monday, December 31, 2007

The 2008 season kicks off in 2007

2008 season has kicked off

Well the short and not long enough break from tennis is over, sure some tennis addicts might disagree with that comment, but the off season is too short, though this won't change in a hurry, especially "Fearless Leader" Etienne DeVilliers in charge, the guy who doesn't a give a fuck about tennis and seems hell bent of making unilateral decisions and everything to please Tiriac. He still hasn't admitted he got it wrong with Round Robin, this clown needs to taken away from his duties and someone who doesn't need the headlines to do the job and get things done.

Onto the good side things the tennis. This time of year, well we don't know what to expect, who has been enjoying their break and taking this trip to Australia as a holiday or who is interested in setting a good platform for the season and training hard. We have 3 circuses going on at the moment, the cash and oil backed Qatar Open, just like Dubai without the fun, and more sand. Then there is Adelaide which has been around for years and is moving to Brisvegas in 2009 and it's going to be a mixed event. Sorry ladies, I love them as company and among other things, but watching them play tennis isn't on my priorities, well I can always go and do other things when they are playing. Last of all is Chennai, which is one of the big Mickey Mouse events on tour and has been for a while, but it's good that the people from India can see some tennis.

Adelaide

One of the blog favourites Michael Russell started the season very well by upsetting del Potro 6-3 6-3, according to the wonderful Kristen it was 42 degrees there today and that is not court temperature and Mike is based in the southern parts of the USA and so he is used to the heat and good that his recent marriage hasn't impacted on him negatively. Now, he has to play the erratic Benji Becker and if it's this warm it will help him as long as he can keep the ball deep, then Becker can self destruct.

There were wins for Llodra over Simple Simon and big Sam Querrey took out Steve Darcis who is not a heat lover at all. Radek "Thunder Lips" Stepanek had to retire from his match with local warhorse Joe Sirianni, who has been in great form and deservedly got a wildcard into the AO and will build even more on his ranking. An Acasuso vs. Russell final would be ideal, but not very likely and Chucho has a tough one against Falla first up and he is never good after a break.

Doha

Home of the bizarre trophies, oil and buying athletes from other countries to win gold medals and pay them a lot of cash, not much honour, but that has concept in pro sports is as dead as wooden racquets. This event has the best overall field and some tight 1st rounders, well he have big Ljubo playing against Austria's most fashionable dude Stefan Koubek, both have won this event before, both have points to defend from last season, it would be good if Koubek can get the W.

Calleri plays Boredo and if Calleri plays to his potential then he has the weapons to hit through Boredo, but he needs to wait to pull the trigger and then nail him with backhands down the line as Boredo loves the off forehand, I want Gordo to win, but think Boredo will get it sadly. Seppi and Santoro this one should be quite a tricky match for Seppi, hope he can make it. Big Oscar is saving it up for the Aus Open and Andreev has a tough one in Johansson.

Chennai

Not much to say, except the Sunrise Challenger was stronger, hope Malisse and Baghdatis can do well here, but Moya will win off the court as he usually does.


Sidenote: Good effort from Peter Luczak against the Berdman, why wasn't Berdych sick when he played him instead of retiring the match against the clown Fish, lucky it's just the Hopman Cup.

Sunday, December 16, 2007

The Argentine Legion speak about the other side of the professional tour

This is a very well written piece about the side of the tennis tour that most people don't see and it gives a great insight into what the players are feeling and it's not always a good thing, though many of us would love to play on the tour.

Best of all these are written in their own words and that is rare these days and this was a good sample of opinions there.

Thanks of all thanks to Michelle and Em for translating this excellent piece.

http://espndeportes.espn.go.com/news/story?id=628128&s=ten&type=story

The Legion talks is the new book of Ediciones Al Arco in which 12 of the best Argentine tennis players surprise all with their confessions.

Says Gaston Gaudio: "For a tennis player, family is the worst to have." For Jose Acasuso: "Tennis is an ambience of egoism and much jealousy." Juan Monaco continues: "You always hope that something happens to your rival, even if it were your friend or the one that you shared a room with the night before."

The book of journalists Ignacio Uzquiza and Fernando Bianculli consists of a series of interviews with Jose Acasuso, Agustin Calleri, Guillermo Cana, Guillermo Coria, Juan Ignacio Chela, David Nalbandian, Juan Martin Del Potro, Gaston Gaudio, Juan Monaco, Mariano Puerta, Martin Vasallo Arguello y Mariano Zabaleta.

"If the books serve to illuminate, La Legion habla enlightens one about the most valuable surface (aspect) of tennis: the experience of the players. I have read practically every book regarding the theme: some seemed good, others not as good, and the rest not worth anything. The value of La Legion habla resides in the WORD of the players. They tell their stories, offer up their opinions, transmit to us their (life) experience," opinions Guillermo Vilas, author of the prologue.

As Vilas indicates (signals,) the book trides to show, from the mouth of the protagonists, that tennis isn't just prestige, fame and money. It is also egoism, extreme competition and almost constant loneliness.

These 12 Argentine tennis players leave no theme without discussion and also expound up on their visions of the work of the Argentine Tennis Association and the conclusions that came about following the series of Argentines sanctioned in doping cases.

The following is a selection of some of the most compelling fragments from the interviews.

"What is tennis?" Its my way of life, my job, even though I have had the privilege of doing so because I like it. When I had to leave school to dedicate myself fully to tennis I began to take it more as a job than as a pleasure. With time I came to believe, that even if i like it, I am not passionate about the tennis." (Jose Acasuso)

"Did the Association give you a hand when you were an amateur?" In this moment, no. To the contrary. The boys from the Interior (of Argentina) have always been treated with prejudice. This (current) leadership, I don't know how it treats them because since I have been with Morea I have not been an amateur so I have not really been involved, but I can assure you that it used to be that the boys from the Interior were always screwed (treated like shite.) (Agustin Calleri)

"Is the ATP discriminatory?" Its discrimination from an economic standpoint, like any multinational corporation. Its just another of millions that there are in the world. Point being that I accept it, but I'm not buying into it that it is a group of players that decide (players union) because it isn't like that. (Guillermo Cañas)

"What are the pros and cons of being a professional tennis player?" "The main con is the falseness of your surroundings, not just from the players, but from everyone. In tennis, it's very normal to go from being the worst to the best and vice versa. In Argentina you're either God or you don't exist. When you're doing well, everyone surrounds you, and if you don't get the results, you're left all alone, or in other words, surrounded by the people who really care about you. That's why sometimes I may have been aloof or conceited because I never let anyone enter my circle of trust. You know how it goes and that there are heaps of people who latch on to you during the good times and then disappear". (Guillermo Coria)

"Is the Davis Cup one of your goals?" "Yes, for me, yes, it's one of my goals. But, I mean, there are lots of things...you might go and play Davis Cup and earn 10 000 dollars and you go to a tournament and earn 50 000, that's why it's difficult and I understand those who refuse to play a tie. I understand them and I have also sometimes said no. People don't see that side; you say no and they accuse you of not playing for your country. I have put aside a lot of things for the Davis Cup and nobody knows that. When I played in Canada with el Gordo (Agustin) Calleri, several guys had said no, and we weren't even in the World Group. I lost money for playing that tie because we didn't earn a cent in prize money and I travelled with my coach and had to pay for everything - his hotel, his fare. I remember that the captain at the time, Franco Davin, had to pay the meals with his own credit card. There are heaps of cases like this. I was always the alternate and I never complained. Another time, I was on my way to Punta del Este and they paged me at the airport because Cañas had got injured. And then I refused the call-up to play in Belarus because the clay season was approaching and it was just one week before, and they killed me!" (Juan Ignacio Chela)

"At one point you said you felt like giving up. Why?" "Because there started to be pressure, sponsors; I was 16 and people considered me to be a rising star, they started talking about me and that scared me a bit. Giving up school was also quite hard for me because I started to miss my friends, and the long trips made me miss my family a lot, we only spoke once a week. So I started to think: "What am I doing distancing myself from everything I love at such a young age?" and I stopped playing for a month. But that period made me realise that tennis was for me and that, since I had the opportunities, I couldn't waste them." (Juan Martin Del Potro)

"Are there schools of ideology in tennis like there is in football, for example?" "I, in particular, am of an ideology which I'm not sure is good for tennis. In footballers terms, it's closer to Menottism than Bilardism. (Menotti, the beautiful game and Bilardo played a more structured and pragmatic style for the non football lovers in here.)

When Nadal beat Federer in the 2006 Roland Garros final, he said later in the press conference: "I didn't play well but I knew that if I was courageous and strong, I could win." I don't believe in that, and it's bad. But it's an ideology that is so deep within me that I can't get rid of it. It's even a point of permanent discussion with my coach. He says to me: "there'll be thousands of times you won't play well" and now, after a ten year career, I realise I probably played well ten times in my whole life." (Gaston Gaudio)

"Did you ever have to share a room with someone you had to play against the next day?" "At a professional level, no, we each have our own room. But at a Challegers and Futures level, I often had to sleep in the same room as the guy I had to play against the next day. I wanted to kill him! It's a really weird feeling because, if nothing else, you think: "I hope this kid sleeps badly so I have more chances of winning". And you think that even if they're your friend. You always hope something happens to the other person". (Juan Monaco)

"There is often criticism towards you because of your approach to tennis: always professional but perhaps a bit too relaxed". "I live life. I think that helps but anyway, there are people who don't think so..." (David Nalbandian)

"Why did you come back to play?" "Because I wanted to end my career on the court, I deserve it, and to do the impossible to finish with a good ranking. I had dreamed of it since I was a young boy. I always wanted to be the one who stopped the tennis, and not have the tennis stop me. That's why I fought so much for all this. And I came back to play to be up there. Because I always felt I was going to come back and play". (Mariano Puerta)

"What does Guillermo Vilas mean to you?" "Guillermo is a role model we all had at one time or other, which has been torturous for many people, including me. He was the best at everything, as a role model and professional. He trained eight hours a day. His image is so deep rooted that at one point, I ended up hating him because all my coaches would tell me I had to train longer and not just four hours." (Martin Vassallo Arguello)

"There are some things which are normal, much more so than for other people. For example? The facilities you have to be able to get anything. From things to do with money to celebrities. For example, I remember once I was practising in Madrid and they invited me to the Real Madrid training session. I think that would be a dream for a lot of people, and I, thanks to tennis, had the chance to be with all the Argentinian and foreign players from the team. You might think that this is normal, but when you stop and think about it, you say: "What am I doing here eating with Ronaldo or Beckham?" I even played tennis with the prince of Monaco. I was training in Monte Carlo one day and they came and told me he wanted to play, so he came and we played for a bit. Over time, these things become so normal that they end up being insignificant. In any case, they're things that happen to elite tennis players, there are heaps of players who don't even come close to experiencing these situations..." (Mariano Zabaleta)

Saturday, December 08, 2007

Edgardo Massa: The Forgotten Argentine on the Eternal Comeback

This one is about Yayo Massa, this is man who has been injured for almost 6 years in total and if he plays a full season he will make the top 100. These were in Clarin and La Nacion the Argentine papers.

http://www.clarin.com/diario/2007/11/15/deportes/d-06701.htm

Massa, the talent so badly struck by injuries

At the age of 20, he made good progress. Today, at the age of 26, he doesn't want any shocks.
Exactly seven years ago, triumphing at the Ericsson Cup, Edgardo Massa created excitement which, over the years, has been gradually diminishing. Throughout his career, Yayo has had as much talent as he has injuries. Too many for a professional tennis player who had made such good progress. Today, a far cry from those semifinals reached in 2000 - he was only stopped in the semifinals by an exceptional Guillermo Coria - the Formosa native seeks to relaunch his career at the Copa Petrobras, where he yesterday reached the second round after beating American Hugo Armando 6-3 6-3.

"I'm gradually feeling better. I'm happy to be back on court and be able to finish matches", the world number 674 told Clarin at the Vilas Club. Massa, now coached by Francisco Yunis, must hold the world record for longterm injuries. Naming the most recent ones, he mentions: surgery on both shoulders in 2005, hip surgery last year, and a stress fracture in his right hand this season, which sidelined him for almost eight months.

So, what does the blonde think of his career at 26? His reply: "I try to say, well, from now on I want to have a normal year. The results will speak for themselves. And if I want to go fishing for a month, I hope it's because I've chosen to do so. I want to be the one who decides to stop, I don't want it to be because of injury".

"It was amazing. If I look back, I feel like killing myself," he says of his past. "Every time I got injured, I tried to be optimistic. I surrendered 100% of my life to tennis. I hope I have a normal year", he adds. "For me, tennis is a job and I try to make it as good as possible. This is a solitary, selfish sport and I try to do my own thing, I don't screw with anything and I try to be as professional as possible", he says, summarising his relationship with tennis.

When asked whether this will be a good chance to get back into the main circuit, Massa says "I hope so. But now I'm taking it match by match, and just thinking of finishing them. I'm starting to feel nervous, not being able to sleep the night before, like what used to happen to me". Towards the end of the interview conducted next to the gym, Clarin asked him what he thought of the controversial issue of betting. And Massa, more serious now, was curt in his reply: "I prefer not to speak about this. I don't want to add more fuel to the fire".

http://www.lanacion.com.ar/deportiva/nota.asp?nota_id=962341

The eternal comeback

Cursed by injuries, Edgardo Massa returned once again to the circuit and hopes this time it's for good.

He kept getting injured, and kept coming back. Edgardo Yayo Massa was a member of a golden generation which catapulted players like Nalbandian and Coria. But a career plagued by injuries prevented him from asserting himself on the circuit. Three shoulder operations, one hip operation, multiple joint strains and injuries are part of his unfortunate CV. He's had so many injuries, he's even stopped counting them. But every time life dealt him a blow, he got back up again with strength and dedication.

Now, the strapping 26 year old from Formosa, ranked 674 (he was 91 in 2005), is trying again for the umpteenth time. He came back two months ago in Quito, and yesterday for the first round of the Copa Petrobras (his fourth tournament), at the Vilas Club, defeating American Hugo Armando 6-3 6-3 and hoping for a definitive comeback.

- What goes through your mind when you see how far Nalbandian and Coria have gone?

- I've known them both since we were nine or ten. We travelled a lot together in juniors, we did millions of tours together. I think about everything that happened and can't believe it. It seems like just yesterday, but it's been 15 years.

How did you overcome so many setbacks?

- It's very difficult. There were days when nothing happened, weeks which never seemed to end. The hardest part is the recovery. I didn't even feel like getting out of bed. All the time I would ask myself what the hell I had done to deserve this.

What was your worst injury?

- Just after I had got into the top 100, I had two shoulder operations. Another time, at an indoor exhibition, I moved awkwardly and I felt a dreadful pain in my hip, and it was back to the operating theatre. So it makes coming back harder, because when you recover, there are joint injuries, strains. It's like it will never end.

- What motivated you to keep going?

- The support from my family, friends and work group helped me a lot. There's no way in hell I would go out by myself. Now, I have Francisco Yunis, the coach that I want; Dario Lecman, the physical trainer that I want; and Carlos Musis, the manager that I want.

Did you ever consider yourself to be an ex-player?

- Yes, very often. Many times, I would spend three or four months without touching a racquet. I was a player off and on for a long time. I threatened to quit millions of times, and not as a whinger. I really had a tough time.

And what did you do when you weren't playing?

- Luckily, I was supported in everything I did. If I decided to study, travel, train, I had support. But in the end, it always ends up getting to you. And I didn't want to feel like I hadn't tried.

What do you think of the players who are already retiring at your age?

I can perfectly understand their decision. The life of a tennis player is very sacrificed. It's tiring and does your head in.

- What's your next goal?

- I've already taken the first step, which was to hold a racquet again. Now I want to have a good ore-season to be back on the circuit again.

Is this your last try?

- I don't know. I always say: "This is the last year." I want to stop playing at my own choice and not because of something beyond my control.

Emiliano Massa, another injury victim Yayo has a tennis playing brother: Emiliano. He was the Orange Bowl champion (2002) and the Roland Garros junior doubles champion (2005 and 2006). He is also troubled by injuries: he is currently recovering from a shoulder operation. "I try to give him advice, but I let him decide what is best for him," says Edgardo.

South Tyrol's finest tennis player Andreas Seppi off the court

This was in the Italian tennis magazine and translated by the great Genci, who is Albania's finest tennis player and polygot.

Andreas Seppi

Kaltern– Cimitero Street [Cimitero means graveyard in Italian]. Well, Andreas lives here. And knowing his passion for horror movies we might think that his choice of the street where he lives was not casual. In reality our Davis Cup man doesn’t have anything to do with it, the foundations of this beautiful house were made by his grandfather years ago.

We are in Alto Adige, more precisely in Kaltern, a small village of 7.000 inhabitants 15 km far from Bozen. Here the people live – and well – on tourism and agriculture, especially vineyards and apples but also handicrafts. The sport that is more frequented is ice hockey and obviously skiing. It’s whole other story how did grow up here two tennis players that are among the top 50 (besides Andreas also Karin Knapp lives here). It’s here that “Seppio” – the nickname that his coach Sartori gave him – comes to recharge his batteries after the fatigues in the tournaments around the world.

He did that even after the nice semifinal reached in Vienna where, after beating with a clear score a top player like Baghdatis and eliminating from the tournament Ivan Ljubicic (a win that has the taste of a feat, since the Croat was undefeated in the Austrian capital in 2 years), was beaten in a well-fought match from the number 3 in the world Novak Djokovic. And that’s how Andy returned home with the number 55 in the ATP ranking in the bag and for someone that before Wimbledon was number 112 it’s not a small achievement.

After a trip of around 4 hours from Milan here we are in Seppi’s house. Andy comes to greet us – in tennis wear – and shows us his house and every room. Then we sit in the living room and, while the TV shows images from the satellite in German language, he talks us of his life outside the Tour. In the morning he never wakes up before 8.30 and he doesn’t like having breakfast. Sometimes he has a little bread, but rarely, because he’s never hungry in the morning.

The first challenge of the day is exactly the one with the alarm clock. It rings and he shuts it off…continuously. Till – but never before the fifth ring – he gives up and gets up. Second thing to do: going to take the coach with the car and going to TC Kaltern [Tennis Club Kaltern] for the training. “I play tennis for a couple of hours and then I return home, where fortunately there is my mother that cooks the lunch for me”.

His mother is called Maria Luisa and “tries to help me in everything”. His father, Hugo, on the contrary is a silent man “but when he talks you’d better open well your ears because he’ll explain things only once…”. Hugo used to play hockey and football, Maria Luisa was a good skier; none of them knew tennis. To close the family circle only the sister Maria is missing, she’s 20 years old and doesn’t live home because she works in Bozen. “After the lunch I never sleep – adds Seppi – otherwise I become lazy; I prefer to watch a little TV and then around 15.00 I return to tennis where Lisa is waiting for me”. Lisa is not his girlfriend but his fitness coach and the wife of his coach at the same time. So it’s gym till 17.30 and then tennis again before returning home.

“During the week I don’t go out in the night. I stay with the computer: messenger (nickname: andyseppi), I listen to songs, watch clips on youtube and then some movies; “Do you want to know who is the best Blockbuster ( movie mogul) of the circuit? Potito Starace. Do you ask yourself how did I manage to lose in the Kitzbuhel quarterfinals after being 6-1 5-3 ahead? Easy: if I beat him who would have supplied me with movies for the whole season?”.

We ask him how is life in a place where everybody knows about you and expect big things from you: “It’s nice although there are some complications. For example, if I want to go across the village it could take me even one hour because I always meet someone, friends or acquaintances of my mother, people that want to know how things are going. Because of this I usually go on bike, full speed, and this way I go quicker”.

While we’re talking the doorbell rings: it’s Karin Knapp, 1m 80cm of pleasant shyness, 20 years old (Seppi is already 23) and already number 57 of the WTA ranking. “She knew you were here and came over to greet you. Karin lives in the ground floor of a lodge, two minutes on foot from Seppi’s house. She lives alone and she takes care herself of cooking: “Mostly pasta – she tells us smiling – in fact I’m not a great cook”. “Between us there’s a nice friendship – adds Andreas – sometimes in the evening we go out to have an ice-cream together, especially in the winter during the 2 months were the Tour stops, because during the rest of the year we rarely happen to be home at the same time”.

It’s funny the rivalry between the 2 stars from Alto Adige. There are precise rules: who is ahead in the ranking chooses the court for training in the club. We ask Andreas if the advent of Karin has made him a little jealous…”No…on the contrary it’s good for me as we can share the pressure from who expects big things from us. Often we laugh on the fact that she is ahead in the ranking and I need to go and chase her. Fortunately now I have settled things again.It’s late, we need to say goodbye, there’s only time for one last secret at the front door…”Everyone talks well about girls like Kirilenko. She’s pretty of course, I don’t doubt it, but to celebrate an important win I prefer Karin”.

US Davis Cup Champions 2007

The USA won their first Davis Cup title in 12 years at home. They took advantage of their fortune when Stepanek didn't play for the Czechs in Round 1. Nadal was missing for the QFs. Söderling, the Swedes best player missing for the semis and a disjointed Russian side in the final.


Like all good teams do, they took their chances and with an excellent Bryans doubles team. The Russians needed to win a match on Day 1, but James Blake was too good for Youzhny and Roddick took out Tursunov.


Congrats on the victory they won't defend next season.

Wednesday, October 31, 2007

Where's the beef in Montevideo

Montevideo has faded over time and Uruguayan tennis hasn't been the same since the days of the legendary Marcelo Fillipini and Diego Perez, but Pablo Cuevas is trying. Uruguay is more known for its beef and it's footballers usually nasty defenders and the odd skilful forward. The Copa Petrobras series has moved on here which as the name suggests is supported by a Brazilian oil company and they run these South American challengers.

Now the 1st round has been completed and saw the return of Roitman who is defending some points this time around, also Zabaleta and Horna coming back from injuries to try and gain some confidence before the 2008 season starts.

Too bad Yayo Massa failed to qualify for this event, but at least he will get in directly in Asuncion and should get a WC to Buenos Aires. Andre Ghem the Brazilian gaucho and one of the best friends of Tomas Ugo Behrend who has sadly decided to retire finally won a MD match after a lot of recent close losses he defeated the "Maxi Lopez" lookalike in a 3rd set tiebreaker and now plays Roitman in the 2nd round. Ghem has had a difficult year, just hope he can pull off the upset here and try and get some momentum for next season. They say winning is a habit, which it is, so is losing and more matches lost in a row, the harder it becomes to win.

Lucho made a good comeback to win 6-2 6-2 over Maxi Gonzalez the Mexican who had been in good form in the year, but has tapered lately and now he plays Villagran in the next round who was the beneficiary of a retirement by Puerta (The Door) at 4-4 in the 1st set. Maybe "The Door" was afraid of Lucho and decided to retirement was the best option for him. He is in a good section and would play the winner of Cuevas and the midget from Tandil Junquiera who upset Brzezicki in 3 sets. I need Brzezicki and Guzman to win some matches, so at least one of them makes the MD at the Aus Open.

Zabaleta lost his comeback match to the champ from last week Devilder in straight sets, just hope that he is healthy that is more important than results at the moment. The bottom half lost both seeds Berlocq lost to the Portuguese Federico "Gilberto" Gil and Hartfield lost to the youngster Belucci from Brazil who seems to have a good future. This event does have more interest for me than Bercy.

Whoring for the last places in Bercy

Bercy hasn't had all the usual withdrawals as previous seasons. Seems that Federer and Nadal wanted the surface changed and the divas got that, plus there was a bonus pool as well for playing all 9 TMS events, ah money the cure of all evils. Of course the stupid Sunday starts where fans aren't allowed in for some reason, well at least they have good officials and ballkids, plus the plant watering system doesn't leak unlike Madrid.

Federer has to play Karlovic in his 1st match and then plays the winner of Nalle and Moya. I hope Nalle wins and then he can beat Federer again, which is always a good thing to see when big Dave can feel bothered and I think Moya has had a long year and wants to do something else now and rest for 2008.

Seppi finished his year quite well by qualifying and defeating Big Sam Querrey before losing to Canas in straight sets, he had a strange year, but more about that in another entry. Just hope Willy can take out Boredo who defeated Simple Simon in a very very nauseating match at best.

Melzer losing 6-0 to Volandri indoors is hilarious for so many reasons, maybe Pippo bought out that lethal serve which stunned Melzer, though he can always go back and fuck Vaidisova which wouldn't be a bad thing.

Berdych and Baghdatis were very impressive in their performances and hope they can continue on that vein during the week.

Tuesday, October 16, 2007

Tomas Berdych returning to the scene of the "ssssssssshhhhhhhh" in Madrid the 8th TMS of the season

First of all it was a disgrace that Oscar Hernandez didn't get a wildcard to the singles in Madrid, then again when it's Santana and that crook Ion Tiriac involved in the organisation then this is not exactly surprising. The model ball girls are there to see, but fortunately I am more interested in the tennis, at the same time maybe it could inspire Safin to play better.

Monaco and Andreev, these guys have played plenty of 3 setters in their match ups and Andreev wasn't really there today. Monaco was up a break in the 1st, but couldn't hold it and for a change Andreev won a tiebreaker, then it's usually the final set tiebreakers that he loses. Igor should have been favoured here as he is better indoors than Monaco, but Pico has been improving off the clay and was able to hold his level of play for longer and let Andreev implode with errors everywhere. Definitely not the prettiest match, but got to take a victory anyway you can. Next up for Monaco is Haas, who would be very happy that he isn't playing Andreev.

Murray was impressive over Thunder Lips, he lobbed and passed very well and was able to keep Stepanek from closing the net with his varied play and the continental forehand of Stepanek broke down under pression and I like Murray's style of play and it will be interesting to see how he goes against the very solid Chela. He beat him last time at the AO in straight sets, he will need to exploit Chela's lack of forward movement.

Baghdatis vs Pavel: As usual Marcos is shit after a break and it was good for Marcos to get the win and the last set he played very well. The 1st set was tight and Pavel played one poor service game and Marcos converted and today he was serving well especially in the 1st and 3rd sets, the 2nd set was poor serving and Pavel maintained a good level from the 1st set and was able to convert his chances. Pavel's backhand wasn't as good as it usually is and Marcos kept attacking it. Hopefully he can play better against Nadal than he has in the past.

Good win for Koubek against Nieminen and he will need to be sharp to take out Ljubo. Del Potro did the expected job on Starace and now he has big chances against Boredo provided he serves well.

It will be interesting to see what reception Berdych gets from the Madrid crowd this time around. Nalbandian will be on as well against Clement and thanks to deivid for the background with Mucho Almagro being pissed off with Santana for not giving him a WC last year, he could use this as motivation to play with more discipline than usual. Having something to prove can do funny things to people.

Thursday, October 11, 2007

Oscar and Luczak doubles maestros in Stockholm oozing style. Koubek and Seppi in the city of Falco and rah rah Rasputin in Moscow

Vienna

The indoor circus moves to the stately Austrian capital Vienna. Where it's not hard to get a good coffee, beer, schnitzel and some great cakes, but enough of the promotion. Mr Vienna Ivan Ljubicic is back on tour after having problems with the kidney stones and it wouldn't surprise if he defended his title again for the 3rd time. He loves the court, just feels at home and then he becomes very hard to beat, especially since his serve has been broken only once in 3 years. He defeated Haider-Maurer and not that isn't Jorg Haider and he was the one to break Ljubo's serve and then Ivan had some problems with "Fisker med" Mardy Fish but he got over the line.

Calleri continued to struggle in his comeback in singles and he lost with Seppi in the doubles 10-7 in the champs TB against Damm/Paes. Gonzo was kidding himself losing a set to Volandri indoors, but came through and is in the quarters against Ferrero, who is hard to pick when he is going to play well or going to be shit and he defeated Canas who lead 5-3 in the 3rd and couldn't close it out and Benneteau. Nalbandian made a successful comeback and has a tough one against Wawrinka next time around.

Local hero Koubek defeated Moya in an impressive performance and he is keen to put behind the shenanigans after the ludicrous disqualification in Metz last week, seems that the umpire Steiner Recliner has problems in France and with Grosjjean. Good that he is using it as a positive and has a tough match against LaLo, but if he makes it he has a good chance of making the semis here, but with Stefan expect the unexpected.

The South Tyrolean Seppi has made the quarters for the first time in an indoor event on the main tour. He has won without losing a set in taking out Baghdatis easily 6-2 6-2, this is no surprise that he lost because he doesn't play well after a break, thescore was a definite surprise. Andy didn't blow the chance against Haase, hope he can win the event, but this is unlikely.

Stockholm

The news of this is that the King and Luczak are playing doubles and won their 1st match. Both had to travel from Spain after playing on the heavy clay to a fast indoor surface. Luczak was able to win and will now play Nieminen for a place in the quarters. Just hope Frankie "goes to Hollywood" Dancevic can end the James Blake streak, so we can have a finalist that is different. Welcome back to the tour for Pim Pim and his second round match should be the epitome of baseline tennis.

Here is a Luczak article in the main Swedish-language paper in Finland.

http://hbl.fi/text/sport/2007/10/10/d6477.php

Australian happy about the income

It should have been Benji Becker, but Jarkko Nieminen’s opponent today in the Stockholm Open is Peter Luczak.

In Finland the 28 year old Australian of average heigh is known for his finalist appearance in the Tampere Open this summer.

Luczak isn’t a player that Nieminen needs to fear. His latest assignment was made easier that Becker lost 2-6 6-3 6-4 to the “Aussie”.

Luczak is married to a Swede. This is his first year in the top 100 and he is unusual that he is reaching the peak of his career at an older age.

“Of course I have been trying to reach there for 6 years and it feels good. But also enjoy the effects. Now all of a sudden I am among the top 90, lately in the 80s. Luczak is now ranked 84th, his best ever.

The Australian who plays with steadiness and placement is unusual among the Australians who is at his best on clay. 19 out of his last 20 events have been on clay, except for the US Open on hardcourt, which strongly indicates a Nieminen win.

“I was actually in a Challenger final in Spain last week and played 5 Spaniards on slow clay. After a long trip here on Monday morning I had no absolutely no expectations. It was my first hardcourt event in ages and I could only hit one ball, but the following time it got better and yesterday I hit with “Pim-Pim” Johansson and it already felt decent.

Met twice

Jarkko Nieminen is familiar with Peter Luczak. “We are good friends and I have respect or him as a player, he is a good fighter” says Luczak.

“We have met twice. It was a long time ago in Sydney 2003. It was my first ever match on the ATP tour and I was so nervous that I lost the 1st set 6-0. But I was able to get it to a 3rd set and Jarkko successfully won 7-5.

In a Czech Challenger on clay in 2005 Niemien won 6-4 6-4.

Luczak is so far satisfied with the Stockholm Open. He has made the 2nd round in both singles and doubles. Better than he expected.

“Good money for me about 15 200 euro. Now I can provide food towards the baby for a week”, smiled the fair haired Aussie who was born in Poland.

Moscow

Vodka, mafia and hot women at the Kremlin Cup. Kunitsyn fucked up this time around. Safin/Andrev is an interesting 2nd round match and Russian will win the event.

Thunder Lips Stepanek is in the quarters with wins over Gabashvili and Tursunov, he will swoon the women with the moves and the swinging of the hips, though his game is definitely worth watching.

Chucho came through unscathed and that's a good sign.

Yayo Massa made a comeback to tennis, he lost 7-6 7-6, but he is back and that's good for me.

Wednesday, October 03, 2007

Reporter Choupi in Metz cheering on her faves and booing Boredo

Since this event has already started, it would be stupid to write a preview and best of all we will have some fan reports from Metz and we all know that is the best way to see things. It's much better getting directly than through some propaganda network.

Flo"The German Gigolo" Mayer once again lost a match after having match points for the 3rd time this season against Boredo who is vulnerable indoors. Boredo escaped, but he might not be so lucky next time. Paulo Mathieu after a great run of form is in a mini-slump at the moment and lost to the "Chicken Man" Benneteau in straight sets and can't seem to find his game. Korolev defeating Starace was a huge upset and the only thing Calleri did in his match with Kohli was upset Choupi.

Tuesday was a great day with "El Fashionista" Koubek laying the smackdown on Simple Simon 6-2 6-1 and there was some excuse of a knee injury, if it was that bad, then no shame in withdrawing from the event or retiring in the match if it was legit. The day got better when Andy "the South Tyrolean sex machine" Seppi decided to dump Clement the arse clown in straight sets out of the event without facing a break point. It's a great day when Clement is eliminated from an event, at least the ballkids will be happy because they are spared the poor treatment from him. Seppi now plays Boredo and if he knocks him out, then losing in the quarter-finals isn't bad.

Lapentti was 3-5 down in the 3rd set against Massu, but Massu is in horrid form and couldn't stop his losing streak and Wawrinka lost to Tsonga as well leading a break in the 3rd set. Tsonga is a tough guy to play indoors, especially if his serve is going well.

Tokyo, well I hope Russell or Berdych can do well in this event and they don't retire in their matches at 3-5 down in the 3rd set like del Potro because he was having a bad day.

Thursday, September 20, 2007

Davis Cup World Group Semi Finals : News and reports from these matches welcomed in the comments section

Russia vs. Germany

The Russians are strong favourites for this even without Marat "Reinhold Messner" Safin who is off to Nepal climbing mountains and also he has a wrist problem as for the view on this choice. Well good for him and if he is not enjoying playing tennis and can't do it, then climbing a mountain on the Nepalese-Tibetan border isn't such a bad place to be.

There seems to be news from the Russian camp that the PMK has picked up a wrist problem and it's a question of how serious it is. If so, then he would miss the season, but this is not likely and wouldn't surprise if this was a move from the Tsar Russian Davis and Fed Cup captain Tarpishev to throw some confusion into the German camp. Andreev is playing first against Haas and then Davydenko has been named to play Kohlschreiber. Haas has been bitching about the court, but this is not a surprise and I expect Igor to get the money here and as for the second match well the PMK has never done that well in surface transition and Kohli has been the best German player on clay this season and it should be interesting to see how he handles this challenge.

The Germans have the advantage in the doubles, but it will need Haas to win both his matches to give the Germans a victory in this tie. It's not very likely, but anything can happen. The best thing is if the Germans won and the Americans did, then the final would be in Germany. Personally I think the Russians with their depth and ability to rotate their squad is a big advantage and will get them to another final.

Sweden vs. USA

The other World Group semi final between the Swedes and the Americans, who have done battle a few times in the past in the Scandinavium and the Americans have lost every time. The usual happens the Americans have the individual stars and the Swedes are better as a team and the Swedes have won these matches. 1984 was famous in Swedish tennis history and the team of Wilander, Sundström, Edberg and Järryd defeated John McEnroe, Connors and Fleming which was the Dream Team as names go, but they behaved like absolute arse clowns and were a disgrace to the sport.

Wilander is now the captain of the Swedish team and maybe he could use that as a motivational tool for this team, and they will need it especially since their best player and the key to this tie Robin "The Toad" Söderling is out for the rest of the season with a wrist problem. Toad wanted them to choose clay, but with hindsight it was good that they stuck with the ice rink they used against Argentina.

The Swedes have Pim Pim Johansson coming back from another shoulder problem, sure he is lacking matches, but this is their best chance of Sweden winning and there won't be many rallies at all and if he beats Roddick on Day 1, then it could set things up. Thomas Johansson will need to play out of his skin and at home in Davis Cup is the best possible time. The serve is going to be a huge factor, so the ability to concentrate and take those half chances are the key for the Swedes. It will be a difficult task with Roddick and the Bryan Bros, the Swedes have to get it to a 5th match and James Blake isn't necessarily the guy you want to play away from home to win a vital 5th match.

Looks like a Russia vs. US final lets hope that is not the case.

World Group Playoffs Part 1 including Chile, Brazil, Peru and Aussie matches

Israel vs. Chile

Fernando Gonzalez returned to form at the right time with a title win in Beijing and will want to atone for the disappointment against Russia in the 1st round, when he lost to Andreev on Day 1 and that cost Chile a chance to make the Davis Cup final and we know how much Gonzo and Massu both love playing for their country. Massu has been in woeful form of late and there were some calls for Capdeville to replace him, but Gildemeister made the call to stick with Massu and he opens up the tie against "the Dude" Dudi Sela and the hardcourt surface should be fairly fast. It wouldn't surprise if 'the Dude" beats Massu. The doubles will be interesting with Erlich/Ram against Gonzo/Massu, one team being of doubles specialists and the other one have known each other for years and play very well as a combination when playing for Chile. Though the Chileans should be too strong overall and will return to the World Group.

Serbia vs. Australia

The shenanigans started early in the week with the Aussies complaining about the state of the court in Belgrade with Hewitt making comments about craters. Temporary courts need time to be ready and to be played on before they can get to an acceptable standard. The Aussies should know this when they use the drop-in grass courts and there have been problems with that in the past. The ITF referee would have the option of cancelling the tie if the court was unplayable and too poor to play on.

Onto the tie now and the Serbians are big favourites and are very confident about their chances. They have not been shy in stating this and they have good reason to as well. Novak Djokovic is on fire at the moment, plus Janko Tipsarevic is another guy who lifts his level for Davis Cup play, plus the very likeable Nenad Zimonjic, who happens to be one of the worlds best doubles players and the Serbs have a good foundation. They are both very comfortable on the clay and they will have 20,000 Serbian fans cheering them on in a hostile atmosphere for the Aussies.

The Aussies of course are dependant on Hewitt and have been for a while. He has bitched about a lot of things, but he needs that so he can fire up and function on court and he loves the hostile environments, actually I think he gets a hard on when he plays in places he is hated. I mean he has played in Guga land and came out the winner, he played in Barcelona and defeated Costa, when the whole crowd wanted to have his head on a platter. Last year he was in Argentina where he isn't exactly loved through his previous confrontations with many Argie players, but he has shown he can handle hostile environments.

Peter Luczak, one of the best guys on tour has been selected for the second singles and will have the task of playing Djokovic in the 1st match. It will be tough for Luczak, but just hope he can put on a brave performance and if Djoko is going to beat him, then he keeps him out there for as long as it takes. Luczak loves the clay and he could get the ball into uncomfortable areas for Djokovic shoulder and head high and he can run all day, plus he loves the DC environment, but it will be a tall order and the Aussies will be fortunate if they can get it to a 5th match.

Austria vs. Brazil

This tie is looking ugly for Brazil either way you look at it. They will be playing on carpet away from home, in addition to the fact that they have lost Saretta and Melo part of the excellent Brazilian team of Melo and Sa. Guga is in the team, but is only fit enough these days for playing doubles. They will take in Mello, Sa, Guga and Belucci the youngster as their team and they will do well if they win a match this time around. Belucci is a youngster with promise, but he is definitely going to be a steep learning curve in this situation.

Melzer, El Fashionista, Eschauer and Knowle will be playing for the Austrians and they should be able to preserve their World Group status by the 2nd day and this will give Eschauer an opportunity at 34 to play Davis Cup. This will work for Koubek as well, he can get a flight to Mumbai earlier if they win on Day 2 as expected.

Peru vs. Belarus

Unlike the previous tie previewed this one is very difficult to call for a few reasons. Peru if they win achieve WG status for the first time in a long time and at home they should be favoured to do so, which brings a lot of different pressures in itself. Last time Peru were in the WG they had the man Jaime Yzaga as a top player and now he is the captain and this tie will depend on Lucho Horna for sure. He loves the DC and to lead his team to WG status would be a very big moment for him. He will be under pressure and expected to win both his singles matches, this leads to where the other win will come from. Chino Miranda will have to play the tennis of his life to help Lucho out and his match with Mirnyi could set the mood for the tie on Day 1.

Belarus have the beast Max Mirnyi and the vodka loving Voltchkov, who only plays DC these days and not on the tour. He has been playing clay Futures events and maybe laying off the vodka as well. It would be interesting to see if the Belarussians would put the French Open junior champion Ignatik in a live singles match.

Horna has had some problems with his back, but he wouldn't miss this unless he couldn't walk and Mirnyi has been suffering from very poor form lately. Max has a 3-0 lead over Horna in their matches, but none of them have been in South America and Lucho finally beat him in a qualie match in one of the TMS events. He just has to stay calm and pin Max on the baseline in his service games and then watch the ball and not the man at the net. Not sure about this one, but it would be great if Peru could make the World Group, need to see some other countries there.

WG Playoffs Part 2: The Czechs, Brits, Swiss and Romania

GB vs. Croatia

The Brits are the favourites for this tie considering what they could have been facing. This is a depleted Croatian team guys like Ancic missing cause of a shoulder problem and Karlovic still seething over the shabby treatment he received in 2005 when it came to finances and pulled the plug when his team needed him this time around. The Croats have big Ljubo who basically won the DC for Croatia in 2005 with his strong performances throughout the year and the talented youngster Marin Cilic who has already played a DC tie and it will be tough on the grass this is for sure.

Henman in his last Davis Cup tie will want to go out on a high and Andy Murray will want to salvage something from a difficult season and both are better on the grass surface than the Croats, though some rumours are flying around that this could be moved indoors and we know that big Ljubo would rather that than on the grass, where his poor returning can get exposed. If they play on grass, it will be interesting to see and the Croats have to be at 1-1 to at the end of Day 1 to have any chance of preserving their status in the World Group, that was a very profound statement for sure. I think the Brits will win if it's outdoors, if there is a roof, then Croats chances are much higher. We do know Henman has had some big chokes at Wimbledon before.

Czech Republic v Switzerland

This tie will be held indoors on a fast surface and the teams are quite evenly matched and if a couple of players one each on both sides played in their 1st round ties, then they wouldn't be in the position of fighting for World Group status, yes this means Federer and Stepanek especially. They had their reasons no doubt, but that's for another time.

The Swiss have Federer, Wawrinka, Allegro and Chiudinelli. The Czechs have Berdych, Stepanek, Dlouhy and Damm in their team more than likely.

This tie is actually more interesting that the WG semi finals in a lot of ways and the doubles will be key. Stepanek and Federer will be starting off this time around and Federer has said that "Thunder Lips" can be a bit annoying with the antics, but he will need to be vigilant as Stepanek while having a poor DC record, enjoys the low bouncing fast carpet surface and will use his variation and antics to try and upset Federer who has lost a DC match since 2003 against Hewitt, but then again he has probably played 3 of them. Berdych will need to put the Ostrava nightmare behind him losing to Roddick on clay and he loves playing indoors and Stani Wawrinka is no easy match either way and how Stepanek plays as much as the previous result could impact on how Berdych plays against Wawrinka. He could relish the challenge and turn on a good show or he could freeze and then the Czechs be down 0-2.

Personally I'd like to see the Czechs win, mainly cause the Federer superman come to save the Swiss World Group status is a bit much and it would be good to see that get punished, but the feeling is here that they will get the job done, though it would be good to see Berdych play a blinder and liven things up.

Romania, even though they are away from home, they should be too strong for the Japanese, though Suzuki can definitely cause some problems with his kamikaze game and has to many players, even though he is on the decline.

Slovakia have a very young team and the Koreans have the veteran Lee and not much else to back him up. I think the Slovaks will get the job done and Miloslav Mecir should come out of the retirement and play in the singles.

Monday, September 10, 2007

Bizarre Bucharest in the honour of such legends as Richard Fromberg, Joan Balcells and Franco Davin. This is the end of the clay season

Yes, the crazy event of Bucharest where seeded players never win or haven't won the event since the Muster days. There have been some great winners of this event aka Franco Davin, Richard Fromberg, David "Pics" Ferrer and Jose Acasuso spring to mind and they weren't seeded at all.

Monfils asked for a WC, but that was reserved for local heroes Pavel, Lurch Hanescu and Santoro, this was a good choice and also Monfils needed the match practice and he got that and made the main draw and should cause some problems to any of the players he faces.

Fat Albert Montañes and Che Vassallo Arguello have already made the second round with wins over Devilder who struggles to win at main tour level and Eschauer respectively and this is the big career year for Werner, but in all likelihood, there will be a huge fall in the ranking.

Last clay event of the year sadly and there will be many players who need to do well here before they move onto their weaker surfaces like Starace, Roitman and the King who has a tough match against local Pavel and will be on centre court for sure.

Bad day for the Aussies and the battle between Luczak and "Ronald McDonald" Guccione for the last Davis Cup spot, well isn't clearer now as both of them lost today to Andreev and Navarro Pastor respectively. Luczak lost to one of the best players in this event in a tight 3 setter, but he needed to play a bit above himself to take out Andreev and losing 6-4 in the 3rd is respectable, though having a 30-0 lead in the 10th game on serve has to hurt a bit. As for the Gooch, he isn't in great form at the moment, but I think he will get the nod, more in the DC preview next week.

Blogger favourite Seppi won a wonderfully entertaining match which you wouldn't say was serve dominated 4-6 7-5 6-4. The first set there were around 6 consecutive breaks of serve, uintil Melzer decided to hold in the 10th game.

The second set, something happened and they held serve all the way to the last game and then Seppi broke to love.

Seppi gets the break then at 4-2, Melzer restarts the breakathon and it continued all the way through to the end, where Seppi breaks serve for the match after failing to serve it out to 6-4

Tuesday, August 28, 2007

Zoo York, Zoo York: The last Slam of the year and who will stop Herr Federer and fan reports as well

Zoo York, Zoo York: The last Slam of the year and who will stop Herr Federer

Well at this moment I can’t be bothered doing a proper write up for this event and maybe it’s the 3 day 1st round, the fact the World Athletic Champs are on at the moment. So I will do my best to provide something relevant to the US Open tennis.

Flushing Meadow well what a place, it’s hard to be too complimentary to an event that has Stupid Saturday otherwise known as Super Saturday, has the final set decided by tiebreakers, cause the local population don’t have the attention span to handle an advantage 5th set, yet can watch baseball and we all know the US Open is a slave to TV demands.

Onto the event itself well Federer got the Xmas section with all qualifers and the fact that big John Isner beat the Shark, will mean that for the first 3 rounds, he will face qualifier, qualifier or qualifier/Wildcard. This will just mean that he will have some good hitting before the matches that he needs to win will come around.

Just going through some of the 1st round results, well Isner winning was a surprise I thought Nieminen would have enough guile to get through, but the big man handled the occasion quite well and has a very winnable match against de Voest.

LaLo give Ferrero a straight set hiding and this is a strange result, though the last time they played in Stuttgart LaLo was playing quite well and the quick conditions helped his serve, but knowing when either of these two will play well is just a lucky guess and now LaLo plays big Andreev, hope Igor ends the LaLo adventure and I’d fancy his chances against Gasquet more so than LaLo.

Berdych had a solid win over Gicquel and will be hopeful of a strong showing here and that Verdasco defeats Simon, cause the annoying Simon is poison for Berdman’s game and also cause Simon is a flea and he would be fodder for Roddick.

Lucho and Luczak, well I am happy that one player that the blog likes made the 2nd round and in this one it was impossible for it not to happen. Lucho won 7-6 6-3 7-6 and saved set points and now plays Alamgro, it’s a match he can win for sure and he is better on hardcourt than Mucho and hope he has learnt something from the Båstad loss.

Other matches in this round:

- Chucho should beat Che and more than likely play Roddick and that should end his involvement in this event.

- Koubek plays big Querrey and this could either be a beatdown by Sam or Stef could play one of those matches where he decides to turn up and show what he can do, but he never does well at the US Open, so that isn’t likely.

- Big Mike Russell plays Blake and he has seemed to have pissed a lot of people off and got stiff draws, but hope he can make Blake hit a lot of balls and then Blake can start missing, cause Russ needs a break at this level.

- Seppi/Calleri: I want Seppi to win mainly cause he is a better match up for Hewitt than Calleri is and at least a player I like makes the 2nd round as well and then will play Hewitt.

- Santoro got Montanes and should get the W here and Pavel got a nice section of the draw and hope he takes advantage of this and beats that big serving buffoon Meffert.

Last of all the King Hernandez is out against “Baby Ali” Tsonga and this one won’t be easy, but anything can happen and also he is playing with Hartfield in the doubles, there are some women who would quite like that team.

Who will stop Federer? Injury or illness is the likely answer.

Montreal and Cincinnati Review

Montreal/Cincinnati review

Lovely Montreal the pride of Quebec and also saw an interesting result within the tennis sphere, but whether to say that it was a changing of the guard or just a blip on the radar is something that will be found out in a very short time.

Novak Djokovic the young cheeky but very ambitious Serbian won Montreal and he did the very rare achievement of defeating of defeating the top 3 seeds Roddick, Nadal and Federer in the event to win his second TMS title of 2007. It seems that while Nole is competent on all surfaces that his best one is a slow hardcourt and he is able to impose his game with more ease on this surface than on clay or grass for example.

Defeating Roddick these days in North America isn’t what it used to be, but still a good achievement nevertheless and best of all was that he didn’t have to play that well to do it and that is always a good sign of a player with a lot of confidence that is able to win and be nowhere near their best.

Once the Duck was taken care of, then it was onto his old foe Rafael “famooos ass” Nadal who had been vulnerable throughout the event and it was a testament to his will to win that he was able to make the semis despite playing a significantly lower level than usual. This was down to his will to win and also down to the fact that Paul-Henri Mathieu after a great comeback against Willy Cañas being a set and 4-0 down, then only lost 1 game for the match, was in a winning position against Nadal with a set and a multitude of break points in the 2nd set, but was unable to take them and deep down it’s doubtful as to whether he has the self-belief to defeat Nadal despite playing some good tennis against him and the 6-0 in the head to head statistics, pretty much indicates this.

Montreal was lit up by Frankie “goes to Montreal” Dancevic, who played very well in this event before losing to Nadal and he does remind of the young Federer in the way that he plays, though he is more reliant on his serve and he had been playing some quality tennis beforehand defeating del Potro, Odesnik and Verdasco who got all shitty when the crowd decided to support Frankie and that carried him to victory and Verdasco forgot his geographical lessons when he said about the Quebecois crowd “what country is this Africa”. He like Mathieu had chances against Nadal and played a blinder of a 1st set, but he wasn’t able to sustain that level, now hope he qualifies for the US Open.

Nole unlike the other guys was able to keep sustained pression ( cause it’s such a cool word) on Nadal and while the others lack belief they could win, this is something that Djokovic does not lack and he was able to serve well to keep the ass picker off balance and then able to punish the short balls that came his way and also when Djokovic came into the net, it wasn’t like “oh what the fuck am I doing here”, he came on his own terms and was able to make the volleys. The key in this match was the 5-5 in the 1st set, when he was down break points and then pression was on, he saved them with courageous play and some big serving and then broke Nadal to take the set. The second set continued on that path of Nole dominating and executing his game plan and it got him the win and ironically this was Nadal’s best match of the week.

The final between Federer and Djokovic, well it was not a classic at all, but the result was a very good one for tennis, but the question lies has it signalled a shift in the balance of the game, obviously it’s not going to happen in one event, but all shifts like this need a beginning and personally it would be good if that was it.

Federer has never been the most complimentary about Djokovic, this is probably due to the ham acting that Djokovic has been known to do in his matches with strategic timeouts at important times. Personally from the experiences I have had with him and seen him around the courts, he interacts well with people and has a personality unlike some robots, this is definitely a foul stain as a player he does not need these antics at all, the one in the Davis Cup when Nole did it to Wawrinka and then as he said in his own words, which was censored for some reason, that after the break that “he was running around like a rabbit”. Yes, he had breathing problems earlier in his career, but those have been sorted now.

Cincy

Once again it showed what a dumb move it is to play back to back Masters events and Federer won the event while playing poorly predictably overcoming James Blake who bends over for him when they play their matches and this was no different.

Not much more to say on this event.

Tuesday, July 17, 2007

Choupi is in Stuttgart and the Tulips are in Amersfoort

Choupi is in Stuttgart and the Tulips are in Amersfoort

Starting off with Amersfoort, well this 1st round has been hilarious for a lot of funny results and funny can be taken in many different ways.

The PMK is playing Serra wins the 1st easily enough and then decides to only win 2 games for the rest of the match, he knows how to peak for the big events and also making the second week at Wimbledon and playing well must have confused him and impacted on the start to the summer clay season.

Massu losing to the powerful de Bakker in 2 TB sets and the draw opens up there now with a de Bakker/Serra match for a spot in the QFs.

Mantilla comes back and qualifies with a 6-0 6-0 and then can only get 5 games against Haase, the betting markets moved a lot and there must have been something up there, would like to found what it was. Calleri comes back from injury and only wins 4 games against Devilder.

Andreev comes out and beats the Serbian philosopher Tipsarevic in 37 minutes. Maybe Janko had too many space cakes the night before and the superstar Almagro loses to Eschauer, there could be a surprise winner of this event, the way this is going.

Stuttgart

I have only seen a few matches and no need when I have a special correspondent there. It was good to see Monfils beat Boredo, yes he manages to irritate some people, while others love him, that shows that he has something that doesn’t leave people indifferent.

Berdych gave Lapentti a good arse kicking 6-1 6-1 and now plays LaLo who somehow survived against Carlos “the Prince” Berlocq who had 4 match points and managed to lose, seems Albert Costa might have done some good for LaLo.

Putting El Fashionista Koubek and Chucho on early was cruel as both of these guys enjoy getting up late. Chucho saved a lot of mps, but couldn’t get the job done.

Baby Gaston (Hartfield) won over Hajek and now he takes on Ferrero who won very easily over big Gaston. Gaston is still in a big slump, just hope he doesn’t give up and can turn it around, but the problem is he needs matches to get into form, but without winning there are no matches to get into match form, it’s a vicious circle.

The Båstad and Gstaad Review aka The Andy Seppi Show

Båstad and Gstaad Review (The Andy Seppi show)

Finally now that horrible grass season is over and therefore my motivation is there to write again and it was good to be able to watch these events, even though the Bet and Win livestream is just above fucking small, it’s a good test for my eyesight.

I watched more tennis that week than I had for the last 7 weeks, it’s funny how when Federer and Nadal aren’t at events, they seem to be more interesting unless they are American Mickey Mouse events where Roddick is a dominant figure.

This week was about Andreas Seppi, yes he is a blogger favourite and there could be some bias in what is to follow, but who cares this blog isn’t exactly the highest level of journalism.

Seppi had a wonderful week and to think he would have made his first ATP final at the start of the week, there would have been guys wanting to put you in the straitjacket and the fact he didn’t win it, was down to his old problems of closing out important matches, they say when the pressure is at its highest, this is when the respective weaknesses of your game and character tend to be found out and this was no different.

Leading 5-3 in the 3rd set and had the chance to serve it out, the pressure was too much and Seppi was too nervous to play the kind of tennis that got him to that lead, the well placed serves, the good tactics, hitting the good shots, but with nerves it becomes harder to move and the breathing is impacted, therefore the decision making isn’t as clear and this showed that.

Fair play to Paul-Henri Mathieu who has been very consistent of late and since linking back with Thierry Champion they have worked well together and winning the last 4 games to take the match 7-5 in the 3rd from someone who has struggled on the mental side it was a big effort.

Good to see Andreev take out the showpony Gasquet, who was tired from his Wimbledon exploits, but Igor is a bad match up for him and Roitman as usual plays good tennis against the higher ranked player, but when it comes down to the big points he can’t make it through.

Vassallo Arguello won a couple of matches as well, before losing 10 games in a row to Seppi in the quarters. The tournament at the start had the wet Wimbledon syndrome, but the weather improved and the tennis wasn’t bad, just wish Gaudio’s losing streak would come to an end.

The Seppi and Koubek match was the highlight for me, both players I like, but I was cheering for Seppi as he needed the points more and is better than his ranking at the time suggested and he was rubbish in the 1st set and then it was close and entertaining and came through in 2 tiebreakers, which is something he hadn’t been successful in this year and that gave him confidence for the rest of the week, the question is now can he build on it for the rest of 2007.

Båstad

Båstad suffered a lot this year cause of the Wimbledon scheduling and players such as Berdych, Djokovic and Cañas withdrew from the event and that left a hole there for sure.

The event started off well with Lucho Horna giving Boredo a lesson 6-1 1-6 6-1. Lucho played very well in this match and this was his 9th win over a top 10 player in his career, though with Horna it’s not his tennis that is the issue, more like consistency and also niggling injury problems. He had a snooze in the 2nd set, but recovered well when Boredo was trying to hit moonballs and came to the net at the right moments.

Lucho lost to Almagro 7-5 6-4 after leading a break in the 1st set, the serving went off and then the rest of the game followed and Mucho just played it simple and let Horna make the mistakes.

The Toad played well in Sweden as he does and had a good match with Verdasco, but as well know Verdasco and mental strength don’t go together that well, but he was outgunned by Moya.

David Ferrer he was the man this week, he must have enjoyed the surroundings and apart from the 2nd round match with Massu which was 6-3 3-6 6-3, he lost a total of 10 games in 4 matches against Garcia-Lopez, Simon, Volandri and Almagro, that is an excellent achievement against these guys on clay, some would say where was that form at Roland Garros, well it was one of those dream weeks that can happen to a player now and then.

Monday, May 28, 2007

Raining in Roland Garros at the moment, but will someone rain on Nadal in Paris.. Fan Reports welcomed

First of all time to get some serves out of the way. Yes, call me a traditionalist, but there is something wrong with starting a Slam on a Sunday, it's almost as bad as giving the women equal prizemoney and they didn't make the mistake of putting Federer on Sunday this time. It didn't work cause of the weather and it's a battle Mother Nature will win most of the time.

Vicente was comedic against Safin in the rain, the highlight for him was serving at a 100 percent of first serves in the second set and he lost 6-1 6-3 6-1 to Safin. Safin shouldn't lose his next match to Gattuso Tipsarevic, but anything can happen with him and usually does, but enough of Marat for now.

It seems the likable American Mike Russell has pissed someone off to draw Federer in the 1st round, but the last time he was on centre court in Paris, he played a wonderful and entertaining match against Guga and had the match point, but couldn't pull it off. He will give Federer a good workout, but not much more than that sadly and big Fed likes the heavy conditions. Roger is fortunate that many of the players he likes to beat up are in his section of the draw, but strange things happen for sure.

El Fashionista plays Chris "the gimp" Rochus, the perfect match for him really and just hope he doesn't blow it and he can have one of his good matches with Ferrero in the next round and it would be great for tennis to see the Koubek in the 3rd round.

The big Greek Economidis finally qualified for a Slam and he has a big show to take out Ronald McDonald Guccione, never know Aussie TV might actually find a camera on court 33 to show the match point or something.

Nalle the talented singer and owner of a rally team is back playing and one can expect anything with him, he could lose in Round 2 or make the semis, but I expect him to have eaten many empanadas. Chela and Santoro is a match up of Mr. Consistency and a lack of flair against a player who is all flair, but Fab isn't doing as well on clay as usual, but might be able to pull the upset.

Acasuso with the heavy conditions and not being the seeded player he should take out Melzer in the first round and that would mean a meeting with Pico Monaco who has been some very good tennis as of late, just hope he can carry his form over from Austria to the one that counts.

Before I go to the bottom half there is the Canas and Gasquet match up, well Canas has gone a bit flat at the moment and that is understandable, but he has a kind draw to the 3rd round and if he plays Gasquet, when it comes down to it, Willy will be too tough as usual.

The bottom half will be spoken about and the order is in the order of the draw. Zabaleta has fought hard and made it back to the top 100 and was a Lucky Loser, but was unlucky to draw Calleri. El Gordo hasn't done well in Slams and he has a very poor 5 set record, as does Zabala, but Mariano's is better, whoever wins this should make the 3rd round.

Hartfield got the Bye, cause he plays claycourt clown Ginepri and I wish Gaudio got him instead, but Gaston drew the ball bashing smoking Gicquel, just hope he can win a match here and it would be interesting to see him play his friend Hewitt.

Berdman can do very well here, just hope he isn't focused too much on the Prostejov Challenger and we know that event means a lot to him, but to me this is the event where he needs to make a Slam QF and in his section he is very capable of that.

Onto the other players now the charismatic ones. Luczak got the WC and he is fortunate that he got Bjorkman who can only play on clay when it's doubles and then he'd player the winner out of Blake and Karlovic, good chances for Peter to make the 3rd round and just hope big Karlovic beats Blake, but Blake he either hits them on the line or he thinks he is playing baseball and missing the court.

Lucho and Massu, well Lucho can take him if he thinks to play like he did in Vina and not get pissed off with Massu's antics and the next round well Roddick the only reason he is around so long is cause of the rain and as long as Andreev stays sober, then he should win.

Seppi has a tough one against Moya, well maybe Andy can get inspiration from AC Milan's victory in the Champs League, but it might take more than that for him to get the W here. Last of all then there is the King Oscar Hernandez and we hope that someone can see this fine specimen play and Guzman is just a victim and if Kohlschreiber gets past dropshot Dlouhy, he will be running off to hide in the Bavarian Alps and get rash from the lederhosen after the beatdown he is going to get.

Well the one of this was too serious and I will be in here most of the time during the event, too many delusional clowns who have no understanding of clay tennis.

Will Nadal defend, I hope not, but somehow I don't think I will be wrong.

Monday, May 21, 2007

Ronnie Leitgeb is still an arsehole and Pörtschach is a relaxing stop before Roland Garros

Pörtschach on the Wörthersee is a nice and ritzy place and one of the more scenic on the ATP tour, too bad it has the arsehole Ronnie Leitgeb as the Tournament director, can’t have it all.

It’s always a strange thing the week before a Slam and no one really knows what will happen during the event, who needs the matches and who really wants to win the event and there are some strange results that go on and more retirements than usual.

The PMK loves this event and will try and win it for the 3rd time in a row and it would be good if Lapentti could take him out in the 2nd round, it’s a great match up for Nico, but he has no matches.

Hewitt comes back after a big effort in Hamburg and still needs matches and he plays Escopeta Roitman who needs wins and the winner plays the in form Starace who defeated El Fashionista Koubek and all of Stef’s friends will be sad, but they can party at the casino.

Lucho thumped Dolgopolov 6-3 6-0 and he is a guy who needs a lot of match play to play his best tennis, it’s just the way he is and now he plays baldy Ljubicic. It was good that Seppi didn’t qualify as I would have lost one or the other in this round and also Seppi has his mind on the Champs League.

Roddick decides to turn up and realises that defeating a poor Gaudio, Peya and playing Pless in the next round who defeated Berlocq the clown is a serious preparation. If Roddick makes the 2nd week of Roland Garros they should celebrate very hard.

Good to see big Mike get a win over Vassallo Arguello and he is in a tough section of the draw in other words the section that Roddick isn’t in.

A cheerio to a friend of mine who has had some problems, but he is back working and he is at the event in Pörtschach and can’t wait to catch up again.

Sunday, May 13, 2007

Rest in Peace Hamburg

It’s now the 3rd and last of the clay TMS events in Hamburg and more than likely after 2008, the tournament won’t exist in the brave new world of Mr. Disney’s ATP visionary, who is blinder than Ray Charles and Stevie Wonder combined.

Hamburg suffers a lot from poor scheduling and we know the clowns at the ATP haven’t thought about that. As the 3 TMS events it’s usually the worst indicator of how a player will do at Roland Garros, this is mainly cause of the very heavy conditions and the damp weather. This presents another challenge and not surprisingly Roddick (The Duck) has ducked this event again, seems like beating an in-form Gaudio is enough clay preparation for him.

The qualie rounds have some interesting matches, in fact more interesting than many of the main draw ones and there are a few favourites there and the horrible feeling of two favourites playing each other.

Finally Lucho got a win over a big server and it was Mirnyi, this one will be big come Davis Cup time and Lucho will need to beat Max to get Peru back into the World Group and just hope he doesn’t lose to que sera Serra, who is annoying flea and has the skill of when you want him to lose, then he will win and vice versa. As long as Lucho serves well and stays patient and then can use his heavy forehand and make sure this pest doesn’t make the main draw.

Monaco and Koubek, well either way I’d be happy with the result, though El Fashionista always adds something with his wonderful clothing attire. Big Russell has a tough one against the sneaky Massu, who will pull every trick possible and others to win a match, on this slower surface Massu is a clear favourite. Russell needs to use his serve to outmanoeuvre Massu and break down that poor backhand of his.

Last qualie match between Seppi and the King, well tennis will be the winner here. Big Oscar on this surface will be hard to hit through with that huge backhand and those cat like reflexes around the net. I want Seppi to go through he needs it more than the King at the moment, but this is a good result either way.

The Bye is making an appearance and will be hard to stop. Soderling and Ginepri, this is the battle of the grand chessmasters that will make Karpov and Kasparov look like under 5s level. These two are the epitome of claycourt tennis acumen and the Germans won’t have seen such skill on a grand level.

Volandri has a chance to inflict more clay pain on Andy Murray and we know Brad Gilberto has great clay skills that he passes on to his pupils. Berdych and Verdasco anything could happen here and is likely to. Calleri should be nice and rested and getting ready to roast Hewitt. Gaudio against Gasquet, well the answer would be good luck Gaston.

Acasuso needs to defend his points here, but the qualifiers for the most part aren’t going to be duds and just hope Chucho hasn’t been shagging dodgy women of the night as can happen in Hamburg. Bring it on as they say.

Monday, May 07, 2007

Arrivederci, Gnocchi Semonlina and the fastest clay TMS of them all in Rome

Now after the low key week of Estoril and Münich, we are now in the Eternal city of Rome, well it’s the eternal city of chaos.

The Italian Open has always been the fastest of the clay TMS events, this is mainly cause they use less clay on the top surface than the other events and the hotter the weather, the faster the court plays combined with the surface that leads to the extra speed of the court surface, and if you want proof of this, then having Sampras vs. Becker and Agassi vs. Haas in previous finals illustrates this clearly, plus Rafter did well there and Roddick the biggest clay clown out of this group has done well here.

I really could just end this preview by saying this will be a Federer/Nadal final and live with another overhyped match between these two. The funny thing with the clay matches that they have had, is that Nadal has not had to play that well to win. He played better against Berdych in the semis than he needed to against Federer. I really hope this match doesn’t happen.

Federer well he starts off with a tough match against the Bye, but he could be playing “Superstar” who could either make it very difficult for him or lose very easily, while having a hissy fit and Almagro gave Federer plenty to handle and this is the best time for “Superstar” to get him. Verdasco and Gasquet again, well here will be another exhibition in how to lose a match he should win easily by Verdasco.

Berdych vs. Nieminen – This one is an intriguing match and the Berdman has made 2 semi finals in a row after a lean period of time and Nieminen hasn’t been in the best of form either and the question here will be whether the tricks from the Shark and changes of pace will piss off the Berdman, or will Berdych have enough patience and be able to hit through Nieminen.

The winner will play Wawrinka welcome back to the tour or Montañes who defeated blogger favourite Seppi in the last round of qualies, this is a good chance for either the Berdman or the Shark to make the 3rd round.

Acasuso hasn’t been in great form, but he is lucky that he has Verkerk, who is still coming back from injury, and illness and the speed around the court here will be gazelle like and they will be representing their nations in the 100m at the next Olympics and the winner will play Ljubo. Big Ivan lost a close one to Gasquet in Monte Carlo and he spent a lot of his life in Italy, so he will feel at home for sure.

Gaudio has a potential hazard here. One he doesn’t like playing in Rome generally, two cause of his form at the moment, matches that should seem easy are a lot harder than they should be. He plays “Fisker med” Mardy Fish, for those who don’t understand it means “Fishing with Mardy Fish” who is a claycourt clown, the problem is if he loses, then Gaudio’s mentality will be even worse losing to a joker like Fish. Then if he wins he will play Roddick who isn’t good on this surface, but a level above Fish for sure.

King Oscar Hernandez plays Hewitt and this is a big chance for Oscar to shine and take advantage of the lack of match play of Hewitt. The King has been in very good form lately and he is going close to a career high ranking and that can only be good for the game.

As for the other matches, hopefully Calleri can continue his good form and get a good result here, but Starace at home and has been in good form won’t be easy, it will be good to see a good result here, though I think a slower claycourt is better for El Gordo.

I’d love to see Nadal lose, but that won’t be likely.

Monday, April 30, 2007

They hate Benefica in Estoril and they love 1860 and weisswurst in Munich

This was a bit late, but a mix of preview and matches that have happened. Not the best nor the worst.

Estoril

The week of Estoril and Munich, just simmering before the stupid scheduling of Rome and Hamburg back to back and the ATP aren’t known for their brains and this is just another example of it. No Nadal this week, as he is off playing a Mickey Mouse joke of an exhibition with Federer on a half grass/half clay court. Yeah what an innovation that is, it will revolutionise the game of tennis.

Usually the courts at Estoril play very slowly and the conditions are heavy, but according to reports thanks Sylvester from MTF, the weather has been warm and dry so the courts were playing a lot faster than usual and for some reason they started the event on a Sunday.

Lucho Horna made his comeback to the tour after injury and he lost to the young American Sam Querrey 7-6 6-4 who is definitely not at his best on clay. Lucho has always struggled against the guys with big servers and he has a shocking return, he either hits them metres out or they bounce three times before they hit the net. Lucho was serving for the 1st set at 5-4, but lost it and was ahead 4-2 in the tiebreaker and failed to get it done. To be fair Querrey played well against an in form Starace and has been prepared to come over to Europe and work on his fitness and improve his overall game from playing on the clay and that can only be commended unlike some of his other countrymen who seem to hide from it except Spadea and Russell.

Calleri comes here after a big week in Barcelona and gets some more match practice. The PMK has won here before and loves his small events. Robredo is chasing another optional before he falls out of the top 10 with Hamburg coming up. Russell has a tough one here, but can make the quarters if he can get past Garcia-Lopez.

Andreev lost another tough match in a tiebreaker in very windy conditions against Djokovic. Yes, it was a tough draw, but that is life and he has to deal with that and he is someone that needs a lot of matches, it’s that old situation, losing matches and then playing more events to get the wins and then the form can get worse. Good for Djokovic to win in the tough conditions and should make the quarters here.

Münich

Baghdatinho wins his 1st match for a while against Hartfield and he is back with his childhood coach Yiannos and that can only be a good thing and hope he can enjoy his tennis again. Yiannos knows him so well and he is a very good man and has a good influence and Baghdatis could use that at the moment.

Koubek back after an injury break and lost to Youzhny in 3 sets, that’s a good sign and it’s not easy to win matches after beating out injured, but Koubek is so up and down, so it’s never easy to tell when the good form is coming or the run of about 10 1st round losses in a row.

Berdman plays the geeky German Mayer who could easily frustrate him with the 15 minute forehand swing, the 70km/h second serve and the two handed dropshots of the backhand. It will be intriguing to see whether he kills Mayer or gets the shits and lose.

Come on Hajek win a match on the main tour it’s about time.

Monday, April 23, 2007

Lionel Messi, Camp Nou, the home of Spanish tennis and welcome back Felix Mantilla in Barcelona and Allez Younes and Chucho at Casachallenger

Barcelona / Casablanca

The week of Barcelona and Casachallenger, well I will be previewing both tournaments and for once the field in Casablanca isn’t as bad as usual, but it will still always be Casachallenger in my heart.

Nadal, will be back here playing again trying to make it a hat trick of titles, but the real story of this week is the return of the forgotten Spaniard and warrior Felix Mantilla to the main tour after having a battle with shoulder problems and skin cancer. I am so happy to see him back and I imagine the Catalans will give him the ovation he deserves. In fact I will do a separate entry on Mantilla tomorrow, because he deserves that.

The question is whether Nadal will be stopped here, it wasn’t like he had to sweat too much in winning in Monte Carlo. The fact is that he is beatable and he has to lose at some point, the question is when this day will be.

Gaudio has an interesting match with the Toad Söderling. In normal times this would be a beatdown, but these aren’t normal times for Gaudio on clay and the fact that the Toad is inconsistent on this surface and rarely has 2 good events in a row, this could help Gaudio along with the fact this is where he won his 1st title and made a final as well. It always helps returning back to places where you have had some good memories, just hope to see more of the 2nd set performance against Djokovic, than the other matches. If he is patient, then the Toad can self-destruct.

Safin and Nalbandian are both in the same section as Nadal, but the chances that either of them will go through and play Nadal are about as predictable as a baby arse. Safin, he seems to be a bit slower these days and is a big match player, but he needs to win the early matches to play the big ones. Wow! that was profound wasn’t it. Nalbandian well he has a rally to go to after this event, a few wins would be good for him, but he is more likely to be having a few empanadas instead.

Calleri and Cañas return to the tour as well, after a break with leg injuries and also tiredness in Cañas’s case. Calleri has so much potential to do well on the clay, but he just keeps getting injured and he tried to come back too soon after Acapulco. He got a good 1st rounder against the very likeable Marc Lopez, too bad Marc had to get Gordo, though one can’t be sure how fit Calleri is at the moment.

Cañas has an interesting match with big Max, they have only played on fast surfaces on the tour, though Willy schooled him in Bermuda on the green clay. I think he should be able to handle Max here, but with big Max on clay he has beaten some very good players, then he lost to Gineprick on clay.

The King Oscar Hernandez and Mucho Almagro, well along with Mantilla will provide the entertainment as well.

If Vicente loses to Goldstein, he should think of another career.

Casachallenger

Well Hrbaty is the number 1 seed, this alone says what you need to know about Casachallenger. At the same time it has some good players there, who are either out of form, coming back from injury or enjoy the Moroccaan ambience.

Chucho Acasuso is the 2nd seed here and really needs some wins to gain some confidence in what has been a disappointing start to the year for him, after such a good 2006. The draw has been kind to him for sure, playing Devilder who flew from Bermuda after making the QFs and then the winner out of Tipsarevic and Llodra. The others in his section are his best friend Vassallo Arguello and his pigeon Mathieu, just hope he can get some confidence.

Mike Russell is back in Europe as well and there were some duds in this draw, but he got Hartfield, aka baby Gaston, though not as temperamental as Gaston and this will be a tough one, but whoever wins that match, has a very good chance of making the quarters.

Roitman is playing Massu again, just hope he doesn’t break down like he did when he was beating him up so badly, but Roitman’s nickname is Escopeta. He hits the ball like a rifle, but the rifle can misfire at times as well, he needs to get some more consistency on the ATP, but there is some potential for growth there.

Too bad Casachallenger and not Barcelona is on the Betfair live stream, but we can’t have it all in life.

Monday, April 16, 2007

Monte Carlo the Tax Haven, home of ATP Europe, tacky casino, Jimmy's Bar and Fifi the Poodle and some wonderful tennis history

Monte Carlo

It’s that time of the year again where the tennis circus returns to Europe for the big clay events leading up to Roland Garros.

The lead up events well he Nico “Superstar” Almagro defending his title in Valencia and he played well at last years TMS events and in Barcelona losing to Nadal and Federer, while giving them something to think about. He is a very talented player and his nicknmane is “Mucho”, though this is for his ego as much as his talent.

Then clay god Ivo Karlovic winning his first ATP title and clay is a good surface for him as he can get even more bounce on his serve and he is fragile physically so it’s easier on his knees and he knows how to move on it.

Monte Carlo has been in the news lately as Mr. Disney is wanting to downgrade its TMS status, so he can give that event to his puppet master and mafia don Ion Tiriac in Madrid and there is a law suit more on that later.

As usual there are the American withdrawals from Monte Carlo, but lets be honest are they really missed? The answer to the question is far from it or as much as rancid meat left in the sun for about 3 weeks or as much as Gaudio, Puerta, Muster, Behrend are missed from Wimbledon.

This being said the overall depth of claycourt tennis isn’t very high at the moment (another entry there) and so time to preview the matches. Of course they are starting on a Sunday, which is as stupid as Mr. Disney reducing these finals to the best of 3 sets. It doesn’t matter James Blake you are still not winning one of these events.

There some intriguing 1st round matches like:

Moya vs. Youzhny: I think Charlie should be too strong here and he has won this event before and Youzhny doesn’t always adjust well to clay straight away and it’s on a TV court, so I could be fortunate to see some of this. Moya, I see getting some good wins , but for him to win another TMS event, he would need a few things in his favour.

Almagro vs. Berdych : This will be a match between two very likeable guys, well I don’t have a problem with Berdych except he is a tactical gnat and as for Almagro well I have spoken about him already.

There are a few variables here, it depends on how tired Almagro is from Valencia, though to be fair it looked like the Copa Empanada there, so he should be Ok. As for the Berdman it depends on which one shows up. He can play very well on clay, but like his poor loss to Roddick and losing to the Srich as well show he is just as capable as losing to anyone as well. I hope this one is on a TV court.

The other matches well Chucho Acasuso is back as well, but he always struggles first match back from a spell and hope his back is fine. Luckily for him he is playing Andreev who he hasn’t lost to in 3 matches and Igor hasn’t been winning matches since his Davis Cup heroics in Chile and Andreev needs a lot of matches before he gets into form, that’s the way he is.

Gaudio and Tursunov: Well, well, well there could be some comedy here for sure. Gaudio in such poor form, though he has Martin Jaite back in his career and he was with him when he showed his talents in 2002 when he went back to back in Barcelona and Mallorca. Tursunov is a bit of a clay clown and has wrist problems, so anything is possible here.

They have Safin/Nierminen as a 1st round match and then we have Lee in the 2nd round defeating clay giant Bjørkman and a match between Benji Becker and Thomas Johansson which will be a feast of clay court clownishness, but as we all know life isn’t always fair is it.

Blogger favourite and AC Milan fan Seppi made the main draw and while Seppi is mellow his opponent is the mad Georgian who plays for Russia and lives in Spain Gabashvili and that’s a contrast of temperament for sure. If Seppi keeps his errors down and breaks down the backhand then he can win this match and meet up with Federer.

Preview is over for now and please comment it makes me feel important and I will be talking about the matches I have seen in the comments section, it’s just easier that way and welcome back to the clay.

The Blog has Returned

Return of the blog

Yes, that’s right the blog is back and the question is will it be better than ever, though in reality as to how it good it was very subjective at worst.

Well, the hiatus was for a number of reasons. Once after the Aussie Open, my interest tends to wane in tennis and is only saved by Davis Cup, even then while I have had an active interest in these results. I had other things going on in my life and also didn’t feel like writing about it either.

Then there is the subject of the ATP chairman Etienne De Villiers, otherwise known as Mr.Disney who is intent on creating mayhem on the ATP to get himself noticed and under the illusion of actually doing something when in reality his changes are more cosmetic than a top house Milan fashion show.

I am going to do some more player profile things among the tournament reviews, and I might have a section just for Mr.Disney and his clown like adventures and the demise of Round Robin was wonderful but predictable. When I spoke to some of the players at the Aus Open, they were confident it wouldn’t last, but the way it went down was great.

Ok, if you have any requests for me to profile someone or a subject, then let me know.

Friday, January 26, 2007

2nd Round Thursday Reports

Bottom half of Round 2

As per usual at these events, there always seems to be a balance problem of what matches to watch and this is increased especially as all the matches you want to watch tend to be on the same day and Tipsy Thursday was like this in this case.

Berdych vs. Smeets

This was a man against a boy in reality. The Berdman could break when he wanted to and had this match in control from the outset and the key wasn’t to waste too much energy in defeating Smeets as he will need to conserve for the later matches. It was a routine win, though in the 3rd set Smeets was having a crack and doing quite well and had break points on the Berdych serve, but this match was never in danger. Yes, Mrs. Berdych was there watching the match and she wears the pants in this relationship, more about that later on.

Chela vs. Nieminen

This had the potential to be a 5 setter, but Chela needed to win in 4 sets, because he isn’t known for his ability to win 5 set matches a ratio of 0-8 shows that clearly.

Surprise surprise there were many lengthy rallies in this match, with “the Shark” hitting within himself and trying to move the ball around and expose chubby Chela’s lack of movement around the court. Chela is being his solid self and not making errors and hitting very good length, which makes it difficult for the Shark to be able to implement his game plan.

Nieminen steps it up in the 2nd set and is able to take advantage of some short shots from Chela and levels at 1 set all. One surprising feature of this match is how often they went to the net.

Nieminen steps it up in the 2nd set and is able to take advantage of some short shots from Chela and levels at 1 set all. One surprising feature of this match is how often they went to the net.

Chubby Chela has to make his move here and Nieminen who had a stomach virus and had to miss Adelaide, therefore limiting his preparation for the tournament and this counts against him in the end.

The third set is a tight affair which Chela takes and both aren’t making that much impression on each others service games and these are both areas of weakness for these guys, especially Jarkko’s second serve which isn’t quick and doesn’t get a whole lot of movement on it.

They settle down for 4th set and Chela falls over and there are always worries about ankle problems cause of the surface, but the chubby one gets up and he breaks Nieminen, who then falls over as well and seems to have some problems, but he is able to complete the match, though his movement seems restricted and he isn’t someone who is an actor.

Good win for the cubby one, hope Nieminen can recover and have another solid year.

Tursunov vs. Mirnyi

There are rumours going around that the blogging sensation Tursunov has a wrist problem, but Big Max is a good match up for him gamewise. As Tursunov likes to have a target to hit passing shots and also the amount of times he has defeated Henman who volleys as well as Max and is better from the baseline holds him in good stead for this match.

Saw the last 2 sets of this match and it went to a predictable pattern with Mirnyi chipping and charging into the net and Tursunov hitting big groundies from the baseline and excellent passing shots and it seemed his wrist wasn’t giving him any bother at all.

The last set went to a tiebreaker and there was the feeling that Tursunov was always going to be the winner of this match and Mirnyi was fortunate to get through his 5 setter against Horna in the previous round and Tursunov was hitting it well and took it in straight sets.
It’s funny how everything has changed with Tursunov. In 2006 he could walk around and not be bothered and now cause of a blog and taking the piss out of Sharapova, everybody loves him and wants a piece of him. He was very good and stayed behind for about 20 minutes signing everything and taking photos with the masses time is a wonderful thing.

Clement vs. Santoro

There isn’t a lot of love between these two countrymen and that always makes things spicy within the context of a match.

They are contrasting characters for sure and the fact that Santoro when available and in form for Davis Cup was passed over for Clement hasn’t helped the situation and Clement is the poodle for Forget. Though to be fair at least Clement hates the Round Robin format and this is something positive.

First of all this match was on court 6 and the match was packed, but there was hardly any noise or atmosphere. Sammy and I appreciated the match and the talent of Santoro as he was working the ball around very well and making very few unforced errors and irritating Clement in the process which is fun.

Back to the crowd, what a bunch of dumb, insular fucks. The court was packed cause Alicia Molik was playing doubles afterwards, what an insult to these two players that these people would sit all day there to watch ladies doubles and not make any noise during this match. Hey, there is another world out there, but lets keep the blinkers on it’s a lot easier.

On a side note Clement was at his best bitching about line calls and he suffers from short person syndrome this is why he is so mean to the ballkids and orders them around badly. I mean the ushering was a disgrace and as soon as someone moved in play he would stop and waste time, too bad he got thrashed. Via said that Clement should be made to bellboy and that would be a great suggestion.

This was an excellent performance from Santoro and he had Clement running and stretching side to side and throwing his variation at him and there was some staring at each other over the net during some hard fought points and for about the 11 fans who cared it worth watching. I have a feeling this will be the last time or one of that I will be seeing Santoro in the flesh. As I said last year, he was someone I didn’t appreciate at the beginning of his career, but then I realised he was a unique player and there aren’t that many coming through now in the age of baseline ball bashing.

del Potro vs. Gonzalez

After Gonzo got past a difficult 1st rounder against Korolev, the next match wasn't going to be easier against the talented del Potro and this was proven to be the case.

The Chileans were on one side of the court with their red shirts and their "Viva Chile" chants and on the other side of the court were the Argentines. It was only Sammy, myself, an Argentine friend Rodrigo and his feisty Bulgarian girlfriend initially, but after Nalle had finished with Lapentti they were over in force.

It was the first time I have seen del Potro in the flesh as well, which is always different from TV. He seems to have a good future in the game if he can look after his body and he is still growing, so management will be the key. The thing I like most about him is his temperament, which is something to always look out for.

The match itself was very close and the first set could have gone either way as there was a break between them and it went to a TB. Gonzo wasn't as patient as he has been in the past and del Potro was serving well and had his chances to take the first set but Gonzo is too solid in the breaker.

Juan then forgets about that set and focuses on the next one and is hitting good length on his shots and serving well frustrating Gonzo who is getting pissed off with the Argentine fans and Juan seems to be handling the Chilean fans a lot better. With some steady play mixed in with attacking at the right moments del Potro takes the 2nd set 6-4.

del Potro rides the wave and continues giving it to Gonzo, who is either hitting winners or making errors and this pattern continues into the 3rd set and fired up by his fans he takes the 3rd set as well.

Even though he is leading 2 sets to 1, the feeling around is if somehow Gonzo gets the 4th set, then he will win the 5th and this was eventuated. Gonzo tightens up his play and the youngster is getting tired and Gonzo fights hard to get the 4th. At the start of the 5th del Potro starts to serve slower and the big Chilean takes advantage of this and his greater experience was the key here in that he found a way to win, not playing well.

del Potro had cramps or a side strain, but he was brave and has something to build on with this performance.


Seppi vs. Mayer

This match was a tough one to watch. It's hard seeing a guy you like in such a form slump, that not even laughing is enough.

There were numerous comedic moments in this match, though these weren't intentional at all. First one was Mayer was leading 5-0 in the 1st set and then Seppi decides to wake up and play some tennis and then peels off 7 games in a row to win it 7-5.

Well not the way to get it done, but Seppi has never done it the easy way and the 2nd set had Mayer leading 5-1 and then Seppi cuts out the errors and gets it back to 5 all and then has break points for 6-5 and doesn't take them and then gets broken on a game of errors to lose 7-5.

This does not bode well for the rest of the match and what happened was shocking. Mayer aka "The Geeky German" wasn't hitting his serves at all well and his 120km/h with no kick second serve wasn't suffering the treatment it deserved and the only people suffering were Seppi, his group and the fans as well.

The Geeky German with his huge swings and no pace and then out of nowhere Seppi will dump the ball in the middle of the net at best, it's unbelievable how bad he was playing. The Geek realised this and just hit no pace junk in the middle of the court and let the South Tyrolean make the errors and he was doing this quicker than an alcoholic on speed with keys to a brewery.

He lost the 3rd set 6-2 and then the 4th was just as miserable and these guys behind me were giving both players crap especially Seppi. Mayer in reality is the poorer German version of Santoro without the flair, though he has a funky dropshot off the backhand and when the ball was in play, he was able to get away with it time and time again.

The end was near and what a sad result, maybe going to bed at 5.30 am for Seppi on Tuesday night didn't help him as he does his best work in the late hours. He ended up with 80 unforced errors for this match and "the Geeky German Santoro" played it the right way to get the right result.

Even the umpire sexy Sandra de Jenken seemed bemused by this match and she warned these clowns behind us. This guy walks past Seppi's chair and says "You're crap and a hack" on this performance it's hard to disagree.

Seppi is going through a big slump at the moment, it seems when he is hitting the ball he isn't staying down or following through on his strokes. I just hope he can come through his difficult period.