Friday, October 08, 2010

Jarkko Nieminen : The Masku Marvel



It's time for one of these entries again. This is about one of the most popular and likable individuals on the tour. Jarkko Nieminen known as 'the Shark", not because of his pool playing skills or his ruthlessness on court, which I will come to later. It's more of a term of endearment and play on the name.

Finland haven't had a great tennis tradition, they have been an excellent sporting nation especially when it comes to rally racing, cross country skiing, javelin throwing and distance racing. Apart from ice hockey, this is due to the amount of talent they have in their country, that it would be almost impossible for them to not have an excellent team. They excel in individual sports and it's not such a surprise given the history of the country, plus silence and solitude is not something that is frowned upon or looked on badly.

Before Jarkko, there was a Finnish player named Veli Paloheimo, who made the most of his talents as a player, had the famous Finnish fighting spirit known as sisu. The perfect example of this, some would say stupid, he reached the 4th round of the 1990 Australian Open his best ever GS result in defeating the #14 Carl Uwe Steeb in the 1st round, then taking out Guy Forget who the Aussies love saying his name phonetically. In the 4th round he played Mats Wilander, fought very hard as usual lost first 2 sets 7-5 6-4 in an impressive performance. Then he went over and injured his ankle on the sticky surface, got it strapped and could hardly walk but refused to retire and played out the set losing 6-0.



Nieminen has surpassed what Veli has done in Finnish tennis, but it's important not to forget the past. It would be interesting to get Jarkko's thoughts and whether Paloheimo had any role in helping him make the transition to the tour. Jarkko was an excellent junior defeating Kristian Pless in the 1999 US Open final. The big hitting Dane was hyped to do well on the tour, but he was surpassed by the unassuming Finn. He had already started playing Davis Cup in 1999, something he has been willing to do for his career, not turning his back on it unlike Federer and others have because they have lacked the necessary back up, though with young Henri Kontinen there is some potential coming through and Jarkko would be great in a mentoring role for young Finnish players trying to make it on the ATP cricus.

In his second ATP tournament he like Jose Acasuso made the final of the Stockholm indoor without losing a set defeating Pless, El Ayanoui, Thomas Johansson and Enqvist before losing to Schalken in 5 sets. This is where he first came to be known on a wider scale, sadly for Nieminen his finals record is one of the worst on tour at 1-9. In many of the finals he has been the big underdog in many of the finals he has played Federer and Nalbandian twice, Gaudio on clay, Schalken was his second tournament on tour and Blake in Stockholm again when he was outclassed by the ballbasher who was on fire. The toughest losses were against Llodra in Adelaide and the recent one to Garcia-Lopez in Bangkok, where he had numerous break chances in the 1st set but Garcia-Lopez took his only chance, this is something that has been a common factor in Nieminen's career.

Jarkko has an excellent all court game, consisting of good changes of pace and not too much differential in level between his forehand and his backhand. He can do more with the forehand but will go down the line with the backhand when the opportunity arises. For his game to work at its best, he needs to be aggressive at the right moments, being aggressive isn't just closing your eyes and swinging as hard as you can without any thought. It's about not being passive and reactive which Nieminen can be at times when he is just pushing the ball with no real intent. It's not easy to get the balance right, because defensive skills are very important in tennis and Nieminen does well in this aspect of the game, but when he isn't taking the ball on rise and using the variations of angle and direction to keep the opponent off balance, then he becomes less effective and it impacts on other parts of his game.

The biggest weaknesses for Nieminen are the second serve, the lack of self belief against the top players, plus being passive and inhibited on big points instead of being aggressive. These are all linked together through different phases. Nieminen's first serve is reasonable, not very fast but well placed and can move it around the box, which he needs to do at his height and build. The problem is the second serve is weak, there isn't much pace on it, hardly any leg drive or back arch to get heavy spin. If the pace isn't there on the second ball, then there should be a high degree of topspin or slice to compensate for this. The off season will be good for that, some work in the gym doing some squats and other strengthening of the core will help in addition to just repeating the drill. As it stands when it gets tight and the Shark's first serve goes missing, then his second delivery isn't up to the standard of the rest of the game and can be cannon fodder as it's short, nothing on it and he will put too far on the defensive even if he can get the ball back off the return. If he can improve his second serve to a point, where it's not so attackable most of the time, then even further improvement is possible. In reality, especially in tennis it's when under pression that the weaknesses really get highlighted.

Lack of belief, Nieminen doesn't have a great record against the top players. He is the guy when playing to his optimum level will defeat the players better than him, but will not beat the ones above him. This is due to a lack of a massive shot, he doesn't have the huge forehand or the massive serve to get him out of trouble. An example of this was in Barcelona where he was playing Nadal leading a set and a break, playing intelligent and aggressive tennis, in spite of this the feeling was around that Nadal would turn it around. Nieminen always fights hard to the end, but the lack of belief in these big moments, also at the Aus Open he had a set point against Nadal in the 1st, but was too passive and that opportunity was past. After the completion of the set, the inevitable happened with Nadal winning in 3 sets. The fact that Nieminen becomes passive and tentative on big points, forgetting what took him to the lead and not playing the ball on its merits at these times has hindered them in many matches and prevented the breakthrough he deserves.

Personally I wish Nieminen all the best in the later part of his career, he is very down to earth especially for a pro sportsman. He is very good and respectful to the fans, got a good sense of humour and well respected by his peers for the most part. He went and did his military service without any hooplah or found an excuse to get out of it, like he could have done with his high profile. Sure it was not the frontline, but good that he completed the service.


Not even the cantankerous Robin Söderling has a problem with him. All anyone can ask of a pro player or person in general that they took the right steps to maximise their respective talents in their general field, and Nieminen has done that.

If Slams were rewarded on good character then Nieminen would be a multi Slam champion, but the good bloke factor doesn't play a role in the results orientated world of professional sport. Nieminen represents himself and his nation very well and that won't change irrespective of how many titles he wins or how many finals he loses.

Tuesday, September 14, 2010

Rafael Nadal takes Career Grand Slam



Haven't done an update in a while, more due to a lack of motivation, interest and other things going on in the outside world. Usually I try not to write about Federer or Nadal, there are enough people in the world can fawn over Fedal and their domination of the sport, but this occasion is different.

Rafel Nadal winning the US Open has completed the career slam and only becomes the 8th person to do so. It's an outstanding and well deserved achievement, sure most of his fanbase are gelationus parasitic tapeworms who just followed tennis since 2005, therefore think he invented topspin and nothing existed before then and it will end when he retires. These people will go on and on, but will forget like all players that Nadal will decline eventually.

Enough of this nonsense. Nadal was clearly the best player for the whole 2 weeks and whether people like it or not, players don't fluke Slams and there always is a certain amount of luck to win a Slam. Federer won RG without playing Nadal in the final, and vice versa here it doesn't mean any less for this instance. Sure, the guys that give Nadal the most trouble on hardcourts like del Potro are injured, Murray not good enough to pass Wawrinka, Söderling and Davydenko, one out of form and the other not up to it against Federer and Federer not beating Djokovic. In other words can only beat what is front of you and have to be good enough to take advantage of this.

In the final Nadal had an awful break point conversion rate which is an area where he is so strong, but his serving throughout the event was of a very high standard. Not just spinning it in to move the opponent around, was able to hit some big serves when needed. This and being more willing to hit the forehand down the line helped him prosper in this event, sure he wasn't under a huge amount of pressure. Even when Djokovic won the 2nd set of the final, there was still a feeling of inevitability that this was Nadal's day and event.

Since I don't believe in the whole GOAT nonsense, because it's really just an excuse for people to rant about something when it's not impossible to compare very different eras. Yes, Nadal has benefitted from surface homogenisation and racquet/string technology, but got to have the ability and aptitude to use it your advantage and he has done that, so kudos to him and he can only exist in his particular time. Can't use a time machine to transport him back to the days of the wooden racquets or the 90s where there were glorified ice rinks posing as tennis courts and vice versa.

History alone will decide where Nadal's place is in the game. He will always be remembered whatever else happens to his career. This triumph more aggression from the baseline, better serving, taking advantage of the opportunity when it was there to win a Slam when the big dangers weren't in his path. Nadal went out there and got the job done to win the career Slam and no one can or will take that away from him, whether they like it or not.

Sunday, July 11, 2010

Choupi reports from the land of spätzle Stuttgart and the Båstad party event

The joys of the summer clay season are upon us, which means lots of parties, warm weather, fixes and some funny results not including these fixes.

Best of all we will have the annual Stuttgart reports from Choupi. She will find it hard to take her eyes off Dustin Brown, but players there include the King playing qualies and struggling at the moment, Davydenko just coming back from injury, Gimeno-Traver who should be playing Båstad, but less travel time to Stuttgart from his Italian challenger.

As always we will look forward and appreciate the fan reports.

To Båstad, Vinciguerra gets another wildcard, but he didn't get any favours with the draw at all, getting in the same section as Söderling. Seppi first time in Båstad, hope he does better off the court, than he has been on the court.

Luczak is playing in his second home of Sweden, he got a good match up against Riba, he should be able to win the match though not in good form. Tennis is a funny game as we know.

Tuesday, June 08, 2010

Surprise Surprise Nadal wins Roland Garros

Roland Garros over for another year and unless you are a delusional Nadal fanboy or fangirl, then it was a tedious event that was won by a man who hardly got out of neutral and had more stress doing part of his speech in French. In other words clearly outplayed the field and as predictable as night following day.

As for the rest Robin Söderling backed up his good form from last season and took out Federer, but came up short in the final again. Tomas Berdych finally made a semi final and it was probably good that he didn't make the final as he would have performed worse than what Söderling did. Still have to do an article on Berdych later in the year.

Onto better news "Mr. Prostejov" Jan Hajek won the title again for the third time and it saw the comeback to the tour for Radek Stepanek who has lost nothing in the sexiness department. Disappointingly Stepanek was ill and had to retire at the end of the first set of the final, hope it's not another setback after his problems with glandular fever.

Sunday, May 23, 2010

Roland Garros : Dreams are Free

In reality this should not be a very long entry. So here we go the arse picking, muscular Spaniard Rafael Nadal will get back his Roland Garros title overcoming the huge odds and defeating all in front of him easily in addition to battling career threatening injury which is always around the corner, what a warrior.

As for the rest of the field, well Luczak got fucked hard with the draw getting Federer in the 1st round. King Oscar is playing Hanescu, the regal figure hasn't been the same in 2010. Gulbis and Verdasco let some mini hype begin, but they will just be fodder eventually.

Yuri Schukin got the great draw of Rajeev Rampras too bad this one won't have TV coverage. Tursunov is making a comeback and DGT got the draw, would hope Daniel is good enough to take advantage of this situation.

Will there be a story like Söderling this year, well Inter Milan won the Champions League, so anything is possible though in this case not likely.

Tuesday, May 04, 2010

Interview with Filip Dewulf The man who won more matches at 1997 Roland Garros than the eventual champion



This entry is an extensive interview with former Belgian tennis player Filip Dewulf who is now a tennis writer who has his own blog at and yes it's in Dutch but it's worth getting a friend to translate.

For those who have a short attention span, tough luck this interview will be all in one post, so deal with it, hehe. Before I start with the interview. I would sincerely like to thank Filip for taking time out to answer these questions. Also to Martine and happy Hilde who have provided me translations of Dewulf's blog since my Dutch language skills are absolute crap. Last of all my media manager Michelle who helped out in so many ways.

Where are you based at the moment and do you have a family. If so how old are the children?

I’m living near my hometown Leopoldsburg, a small town called Heppen. Happily married with a five year old boy, Finn.

How did fatherhood impact on you?
I’m much more emotional. For instance: I can’t seem to watch a movie on a plane without getting gripped emotionally. I don’t know if it’s the altitude or something else 

Where were you raised, and what were your childhood memories before joining the ATP tour?

Very happy childhood. Did a lot of stuff with my two cousins (tennis as well). Played a lot of soccer, a lot…

How and when did you start playing tennis?

When I was six or seven I went with my two cousins and my uncle to the local tennis club. Got picked up by local coaches and pretty fast by regional coaches.

What were your memories of starting out the playing Futures and Challenger events?

It was hard, lonely and fun. A lot of freedom. A lot of improvisation. We played satellites what meant that we were every time for three of four weeks on the road. Stayed in a lot of cheap hotels. Luckily most of the time with my cousin – who tried briefly as a professional – or with my friend Tom Vanhoudt, who would become a good doubles player.

When did you realise that you were able to make a career on the ATP tour and did you have any doubts that this would be the case. If so how did you overcome then?

My whole career was one big doubt  I only realized that I could be somebody on the tour when I won Vienna in 1995. Before I didn’t know if I was good enough.

What were your favourite tournaments?

Vienna, Kiztbühel – not only because I won the title there but also because I liked it – Miami, Florence, Australian Open.

On the other side what were the worst places you played and worst hotel experience?

Tashkent in Uzbekistan was though although I got to the final over there. Just a crazy experience, too much to tell.

Can you explain the feeling of winning your first tournament at Vienna in 1995 as a qualifier defeating world number 3 Thomas Muster in the final only losing one set in the main draw?

I only qualified just, was lucky, but once in the MD I played on a cloud. No pressure, a good draw and some luck in the final gave me my first victory. Like I said before: that’s where I realized, I can actually make this work. It was more a feeling of surprise than of joy I would say. Bu still it’s still my most memorable tournament, more than RG.

What were the best and worst ever matches you have played?

Best: Thomas Enqvist in 3R RG 1998. Worst: Adrian Voinea in Romania Davis Cup 1996.

After dropping out of the top 100 at the start of 1997 it ended up as your best year on tour. One of the few players to have won more matches at Roland Garros than the eventual champion in 1997 by making the semi finals losing to Guga but beating Meligeni, Portas, Corretja and Norman. What do you remember about these 2 weeks and did you get much support from Belgian fans or press?

From the second week on it was a mad house. A lot of support (too much!) from the home front. A lot of press what resulted in a lot of pressure for the semi final. Still, people remember me because of these two weeks. I started a little bit the invasion of Belgian fans into Roland Garros  and I’m still in the history books as the qualifier who got the most far at Roland Garros. Nice!

In the same year you won Kitzbühel without losing a set. What was it that you enjoyed about playing in Austria and did you spend much time in "The Londoner" pub?

Just sheer luck I guess that I won my two titles in Austria. In Kitzbuhel I had the most memorable title celebration ever. In the Londoner with some grounds men from the tournament and the Australian doubles winners (Wayne Arthurs). It was wild, it was great and it was the only time I went there that week 

Who were your best friends on the tour?

I was and still am good friends with the Belgians from that time. Vanhoudt, Johan Van Herck, Libor Pimek, Christophe Van Garsse.

The biggest jerk?

Let’s say that the character of Andrea Gaudenzi didn’t match mine 

What major injuries do you have and how did you pass the time away from tennis. Did this time help you gain a different perspective?

I didn’t need the injuries to gain perspective. I had too much already  I had a bad back, surgery on ankle and knee.

When did you retire from tennis and how were the initial months after retirement?

I retired in April 2001 and I was particularly relieved because the last period of my tennis career was pretty bad. I was not healthy but continued anyway. That resulted in bad results and a bad ranking, what made my motivation go down. Once I stopped, I was relieved that that torment was over. I could focus on something else and start a new part of my life.

Were you satisfied with your career in that you gave yourself the best opportunity to get the most out of your game or not?

I probably didn’t get everything out of it but with my character – not really a tennis freak or very passionate about it – I would say that I didn’t do too bad. Before starting it I would never think I would get that far and really make an impact for Belgian tennis.

How did you handle the loneliness on tour and were there times you wished you were somewhere else?

Yes. But then I would go to my friends who were studying and they would tell me to stop whining 

Since you are a big fan of football. When you were on tour did you wish you could be there with your friends instead of watching in the hotel having to focus on your tennis?

A lot! I remember I was with my coach in my hotel room in Braunschweig when Belgium lost to Turkey in their last group match at the EC 2000 in Belgium. I was screaming like hell and throwing with pillows while my coach was laughing…

When did you become a member of the "I believe in the Great Soccer God" church?

When I was born  I always played soccer. When I stopped my tennis career I immediately started playing soccer and stopped playing tennis 

What football team do you support?

The best team in Belgium: Standard Liège.

Do you still play for FC Bos. What position do you play and what are the main differences for you between playing tennis and football?

I still do! I'm a midfield player (because I still can outrun my team mates, says a lot about them :-)). Every Saturday but due to the good results from the Belgians lately (Henin and Clijsters) I don’t have enough time what makes me really sad.

Remembering the great Belgian football generation from 1980-1986. Do you think the players today suffer from being compared to the Gerets, Scifo, Lei Clijsters, Pfaff, Ceulemans generation?

They suffer from a too big ego.  With every missed championship the expectations are growing, which results in a lot of pressure…

Who would be a good person to take the vacant national team job from Advocaat?

I learned today that Georges Leekens is the new coach and that’s an okay decision. I would have preferred a foreigner because the media in this torn country always pulls for the coach of its linguistic part.

How would you rate the current depth and future potential of mens tennis in Belgium? Why have they suffered in comparison to the women who have produced Henin, Clijsters and Wickmayer?

First of all: you can’t compare men and woman. Secondly: they were doing not too bad – we had like 4 or 5 players in the top 100 – but suffered from injuries. Malisse, Olivier Rochus, Darcis, Vliegen…And on the other side: we are/were very lucky with Henin and Clijsters. A once in a century occasion. For the future: looks much brighter on the men’s side than on the women’s side.

In respect to tennis development in Belgium. How much does the Flemish/Walloon conflict impact on tennis relations?


We have two different leagues, that’s all. They live next to each other in pretty good understanding. They more or less have the same system of development, and that’s good. There doing a pretty good job. We don’t have a national tennis centre though, that could make a difference, I think.

What do you think about the overall career of Xavier Malisse and what can he achieve in his last years on the circuit?

I still think he can make a good result. He makes me think of me quite a lot actually. Quite a (bad) character on court, quite relax and even shy off it. Not the most regular guy on tour, but tons of talent and he can make a result anytime. I hope for him that he can pull one out, like another title or a second week in a grand slam. But it’s hard because the concurrence is a lot bigger than when he started.

Did you enjoy playing Davis Cup.? There seems to be some problems with it at the moment, what do you think can be done with the scheduling?

I enjoyed it quite a lot actually but then again we had a nice team and we only played twice a year. Nowadays the schedule is so tight that the top players have to choose sometimes. And when the top players don’t play, it reflects on the image of the Davis Cup.

Do you think it’s fundamentally wrong to give ranking points for Davis Cup?

Completely agree with you. What about Marcos Baghdatis for instance?

Have you ever considered applying for the Davis Cup captain job?

Not really. Would be difficult to combine with my job (I’m a tennis writer ) and I think that the captain was to travel during the year to be close to his teammates. In Belgium there’s no money for that.

What do you think about the length of season? They have been talking for years about reducing the season, but nothing has changed in this regard. If you were in charge, what steps can they take to fix the calendar and reduce the amount of tournaments?

Sooner or later they will have to take a decision. Some tournaments have to go. The WTA tour went already ahead and I think that it's gonna work. It’s not normal that the men have to play a month monger than the women. But then again, it’s all about money and I’m happy that I’m not in charge to cut the cords.

For those who don't know, could you please explain how the ATP is structured? It's meant to be a joint union between players and tournament directors but it appears that the ATP is looking out more for the tournament directors than the players. What is your view on the ATP as an organisation and has it changed from when you were a player to the present day?

I don’t think the ATP has changed that much. The real problem lies within the fact that the head of the organisation is dealing with two different parties who they can never satisfy both. The tournaments want a lot of top players all the time and the players want less tournaments (but still earn a lot of money). They should maybe split it up and create a real players union. But you know what: the one thing that a player is really concerned about is the money (for his own sake). It’s difficult to create a union with that in mind.

What's your opinion on the ATP reducing the differences in the surface speeds, the fact that there are no carpet events on tour. There are many 28 player draw in IS/250 events instead of 32 player draws? Is this the balance of power between top players and the ATP directors?

One part of me thinks it’s bad to protect the top players with the draw but the other part knows that they attract the people and the money (sponsors) so…
In my time I was sometimes complaining about the surfaces who were too fast ( I wasn’t a big server) but know I think they went a little bit too far with sometimes matches that last for hours and get annoying. There should be some difference. Due to the material all players are being developed as baseliners. With the court speed reduced, this will only get worse.

Muster and Medvedev when they were playing were vocal critics of the ATP. Cañas said “The ATP practices discrimination from an economic standpoint, like any multinational corporation. It’s 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”. Do you believe that Willy is correct on this issue and have you experienced this form or any other form of discrimination?

In my time we had the feeling that it was an American organization and that they were favouring a little bit the tournaments in that part of the world. America was at the time pretty big with Sampras, Agassi, Chang, Courier etc.
But I think it’s a bit silly to critic the hand that feeds you. Canas and others may have been appalled by the cheer economic point of view by the tour but must have been happy when he saw his bank account at the end of the month. Again: it’s an individual sport with an individual point of view: I want to make the most (money) of it. It’s hard to get everybody on the same viewpoint then.

How widespread do you believe doping is on the tour and how does it compare to your playing days to the current times. Are you surprised that nothing happened to Agassi when he admitted to taking drugs and his positive result was not made public?

I was surprised when I found out that AA took drugs in his playing days. There were rumours floating around but there was never evidence. I think in my time you had some cheaters, like you do now. But I don’t think it’s widespread just because tennis as a sport is to complex. You have to have speed, endurance, technique, vista, etc…

What's your opinion on the WADA law that missing three doping tests classifies as a failure and the cases of Malisse and Wickmayer where it was the Flemish doping authority and not WADA that applied the initial ban?

I’ve seen this case evolve and I must say that the players are guilty for negligence but not for doping. They made administrative errors that had nothing to do with tennis. I find it a bit harsh that they would be suspended for some stupid mistakes. There has to be some sort of alarm procedure that gets into place when somebody misses two appointments. And is typical that the Flemish authorities where first to signal it. We don’t have a sport culture, we’re pretty negative towards people who stand out and we like to be holier than the Pope.

Do you believe match fixing is rampant and have you been offered to throw a match. How common was it in your playing days?

Never seen anything in my career but then again I’m so old that the internet was hardly working in my days. I believe that there are players who throw matches but not on the highest level.

There have been players suspended for betting on matches albeit small amounts and they have been lower ranked players. Are the authorities doing a good job in trying to stop match fixing or is it just to make the appearance of them doing something?

One word: scapegoats.

What are your short term goals?

Be healthy, be happy and make my friends and family happy.

We are almost done now and the last part is the game called Word Association. I give you name or a subject and you have to name the first thing that comes into your mind.

Frites with mayonnaise: Belgian – and not French! – specialty
Heineken: bad tasting water
Pat Etcheberry: too much muscles
Roland Garros: Belgian territory
Flemish independence: Not in my lifetime I hope
Jan Ceulemans: could have been a superstar but too modest
Trappist Beer: Best in the world
Tom Boonen: Almost a neighbour (10 kilometres)
Guga Kuerten: Very nice guy!
2010 World Cup Winner: España (Spain)

We are finally done now, and I would like to thank Filip once again for the interview.

Monday, April 19, 2010

Barcelona, the home of champions

Nadal slapped the field in Monte Carlo, huge surprise and he is likely to do the same here. That is not enjoyable at all, unless you are a Nadal fangirl but there are some potential good matches and maybe to get some reports from the field.

The likable Valencian Daniel Gimeno-Traver qualified for the main draw, unfortunately he drew Juan Monaco in the first round. The problem with DGT is in close matches, he gets too tight and can't take the opportunities when on offer. Mike Russell is back on tour after a freak problem with his ankle, he does like the clay though he hasn't been able to play many full seasons, he plays qualifier Ramos-Vinolas and hopefully then big Gonzalez in the next round.

Jan Hajek who was recently married and a different individual, who sometimes can play well and other times retire at the drop of the hat and not care, took out Starace in the first round and will play Tsonga so anything can happen there.

Seppi got wildcard Matt Dillon aka Beto Martin, and the winner will play Boredo. He has not been in great form this season and has not won two matches in a row this season, this could be time to start as any. Boredo at Barna is quite tough and he will use his fine attacking play to try and take down the "South Tyrolean sex machine".

Luczak plays that ball bashing Gulbis, who might cruise La Rambla for some ladies of the night and not be too interested in this event, if Gulbis is on then Luczak will get smoked. Peter will fight hard, but not in sparkling form at the moment. Montañes is the man in that section along with Gonzalez, Fat Albert has improved so much over time and should be an inspiration for players that an advanced age good things can happen in the tennis world.

Barcelona is the first event for Gonzo and Söderling on the Euro clay this time around, for most it takes a bit of time to get used to the section, both guys especially Söderling got a kind draw, Berdych, Ferrero and Almagro are probably the toughest ones but anything can happen in this event.

Nalle is getting better match fitness and this is good to see, he gets to play the pretty Melzer and should be able to turn around his recent loss and have a second round match with the King Oscar Hernandez who is in his home city.

Hope this can be an enjoyable tournament apart from Nadal matches and there will be some coverage on Wednesday thankfully.

Tuesday, April 06, 2010

King Oscar back in the winning circle and the 2010 Claycourt Season Preview

Yes, it’s that time of the year where tennis is played on a proper surface and in theory there should be less brainless bashing around, but hey communism was good in theory.

Before we get into the main subject which will say more than the usual Rafael Nadal is going to come back from his deathbed and career about to end due to knee problems to slay the field during the clay season and abuse them like poor dogs in the animal shelter.

Indian Wells and Miami glad these events are over as they take too long and attempt to pass off as some kind of Slam, but they are far from it. On the other hand great for big Ljubo to win one, just hope his back is fine and the fact Roddick won Miami, that’s ok as he is now in tourist season for him on the clay and won’t be a threat until Queens.

Onto the weeks events so far we have Houston and Casablanca aka Casachallenger. It’s always difficult to read what will happen in the early events, though for the ones that win a match at these events, then play qualies in Monte Carlo and make the main draw have a big advantage as it’s normally the first outing for the main players at Monte Carlo and they can take advantage of it.

The first day of Casachallenger had good results for the most part, where Koubek and Nieminen qualified for the main draw, where they drew Robert and Ziadi respectively presenting them a good opportunity to make the second round. Peter Luczak was disappointing in his loss to Starace, more so with his overall level of play not that he lost so much. The serve wasn’t so bad, but he made too many cheap errors from the baseline at the wrong moments mixed in with some bad stuff at the net. Starace took his chances and didn’t even have to play that well to take it.

Most importantly the King Oscar Hernandez broke his drought and won a match against Paul Henri Mathieu. It was good to see the King moving quite well especially after the problems he has had with his lower back this year. There were some sexy dropshots off the forehand side and ballet like movement from the Catalan hero. Too bad he couldn’t have done this when he was up against Mathieu at RG by 2 sets to 1 and 4-2 in the 4th set, it takes a special skill to lose the ballbasher when in the lead. Will have to stay at that level to get a win against Starace next round, he has 2nd round points to defend from Monte Carlo and is playing qualies again this year.

Onto the 5th Slam that is Houston things have started well there. Slovenia’s finest well finest in a tennis sense Blaz Kavcic continued his solid start to the year by defeating Istomin the Uzbek in 3 sets. Blaz has been playing a lot of events and not sure how wise that is, but he is trying to solidify his place in the top 100 and getting the balance is far from easy as to when to play and when not to. A Mike Russell/Kavcic final would be very good for the crowd, especially since Mikey is a Houston native.

As for the rest of the clay season, as long as Nadal gets the schedule right and this would include withdrawing from Madrid, then he is still the big gun to beat at Roland Garros. Cleaning up in Monte Carlo and Barcelona is pretty much a given, as for Fedclown he will be gearing just to peak for Roland Garros as he does these days. No need to burn out playing too much before the big one, something Djokovic might need to learn.

For others it would be fantastic for some other players to step up to the plate and change the way things have been operating during the clay season. It will happen eventually as these things tend to do, but it’s not looking likely at the moment.

All questions will be answered soon enough and lets hope that I am wrong about the upcoming clay season.

Wednesday, March 03, 2010

Homogenisation of the ATP


Homogenisation of the ATP

Butch Buchholz and sidekicks

This entry was bought on by the organisers of the Buenos Aires event having a hairbrained scheme of changing the surface from clay to hardcourt for the tournament.

Lets examine the differing factors. Martin Jaite former top 10 player and coach of Gaston Gaudio and David Nalbandian who is the tournament director for the event. As an individual he has done a lot for Argentine tennis and building up the Buenos Aires event into one of the best IS (International Series) events on tour, there will be no use of the 250, 500 or 1000 series nonsense in here.

Then there is Butch Buchholz who actually owns the licence to the event. Thanks to the man known as Felipe for providing the translations of this guy's words that were said to an Argentine paper which is pushing the agenda of Buchholz to attempt to get the surface to change to hardcourt. Don't forget he is the director and the owner of the TMS Miami and keeps saying bullshit that Argentina deserves a Masters series event, not that they don't deserve one, it's the agenda behind it.

He comes out and says that he is not against claycourt tennis, yet hardcourts are the way to go .
http://www.menstennisforums.com/showpost.php?p=9683015&postcount=110

The reason for this is simple, pure profiteering as the cost and maintenance of hardcourts is a lot cheaper than the clay. The fact he is a TD of Miami and is pushing for hardcourts to be played in Bs As, this does not suggest that he actually cares about tennis in Argentina, which he wouldn't as his first motive is to make profit and this is the best way for him to do so.

Jaite should have learned his lesson already after the Round Robin fiasco that he forced up on the Buenos Aires event which was one of the most farcical tournaments and this says quite a bit when concerning the ATP. He built the event up from very difficult times which including not paying appearance money, but they have been able to do that for a while now, once they got the tournament back on track. He more than anyone should know that there needs to be careful consideration before adopting the latest gimmick in addition to the rich tennis history in Argentina which was built up on the clay.

The tennis tradition in Argentina was built on Guillermo Vilas and this can't be overstated and Jaite was one of them as well that was inspired by Vilas. The majority of the courts in the country are on clay and the passionate fans like tennis, especially on clay. As Buchholz is an outsider who just owns the licence and has no understanding of Argentine tennis, this is where Jaite has to step up to the plate, but it seems he is more interested in his cut of the cake.

Thinking about a possible change to hardcourts, well they want to move the event to the Parque Roca, where they have held Davis Cup and as it's a bigger venue and the cost is less to install hardcourts. It seems like they are wanting to cater to Juan Martin del Potro, who won't play his home event as it's on clay, but is more likely to do so if played on hardcourt. No player is bigger than the game and that is anywhere in the world. Next of all, if the change goes ahead then it will just become another meaningless Mickey Mouse hardcourt event for the simple reason why would the European players who prefer the clay travel to another continent when they can play in Europe on the same surface or play a European challenger if they were on the border of direct entry of the Buenos Aires event, as it would save them on expenses.

The spin campaign is pretty impressive and the majority of local fans like the international players who are treated well for the most part, but the local crowds want to see their players battling it out on the surface that they play on themselves. What are they going to use to get these players who don't normally play in Argentina to get them there. Hey! we have fantastic beef and you can have free asado everyday and as many hot women in Buenos Aires as possible. So, if they plan to get del Potro he is not going to play for free, there isn't going to be much in the pie for the rest of the players that they are allegedly negotiating with depending on the surface change.

This leads onto the next point, the amount of IS events that are being reduced to 28 player draws. The week before a Slam it's understandable that there is a 28 player draw. Other than that, then it just becomes a Mickey Mouse event, not that much different from playing local league tennis. This is a problem with the structure of the ATP as it's made up of the players and tournament directors, each with their own particular interests and not prepared to work together. The tournaments that have 28 player draws are just protecting top players who will have had the huge guarantees to play at these events, so they only play 4 matches to win the event, while the others have to play 5 to win the event. Not even the WTA has as many 28 player draws as the ATP have these days. What are the representatives of the Player Council doing and are they an accurate representation of the players as a union or just the interests of the top players and what happens to the others is like 10 alcoholics fighting over the last beer.

Hopefully the Player Council shows some testicular fortitude and reject the surface change of Buenos Aires, though with the track record of the ATP it is not very likely that there will be a sensible and well thought out decision will be made. Tennis is a wonderful sport and yes it should adapt when necessary to further development, though it's hard to be positive about the ATP in its current formation. The diversity of skills required to do well on the different surfaces has been virtually lost, as carpet doesn't exist on the tour anymore, the grass season is minimal in length, the overall season is too long and hardcourts dominating the main tour to the point of tedium.

This is an organisation that refused to listen to the fans and masses about Round Robin, by deliberately misleading the public when they were surveying them as to whether they wanted to see the format, by asking leading questions to a certain answer. Always paying lip service about making adjustments to the calendar but in reality doing a lot of nothing.

Tuesday, February 02, 2010

Aus Open Recap and Random Notes

Aus Open Summary

There were plenty of long days and I really didn't have the amount of time needed to write my reports during the tournament, because if I did then it would have been very pedestrian and poorly done. Needless to say that I didn't want that to happen, so I will still have plenty of memories from the event, and it will done chronologically from the 2nd round onwards so lets see how this pans out.

2nd Round:

Serra vs. Nieminen

Old que sera Serra he is probably a really good guy, but fuck I can't stand him as a player and sometimes in life you need certain things to reassure the current views held and this match was one of those times.

For some reason this is a bad match up for Nieminen, in most cases you can tell why some head to head results are the way they are. I mean Federer to Roddick, as Fed negates Roddick's serve, Nadal to Federer, as he can break down his backhand, but this one is a mystery and not sure one that is going to be solved.

Nieminen has 2 sets to 1 lead and is playing quite well, not overly aggressive but well enough to get this done in 4 sets. He lead a break and had match points, but the old Nieminen curse of being passive on the big points came through again and couldn't serve out the match in the 4th set. Serra is there a mix between the clownish errors, the odd decent shot but somehow is still in this match. Nieminen's body goes the wrong way and his ankle is stuck, he pulls up and then gets a treatment for it and not long after this the clown Serra gets an injury timeout for cramp, which of course is not legal these days, and Nieminen is pissed off with it. At the same time the injury timeout shouldn't account for the easy smash missed in the TB, classic Nieminen and not for the right reasons.

At 5-5 in the fifth set break point down after an elongated rally, he comes into the net off a bluff and Nieminen hits an excellent passing shot and Serra pulled off a brilliant angled backhand drop volley off the shoelaces. He even had "what the fuck, how did I do that" expression on his face. Once Serra held that game, then it was no surprise that this guy broke to take the match. He hits 104 unforced errors and not even close to the same amount of winners yet wins this match, got to love this sport. Sure Nieminen was going to get smoked in the next round, better it was he than Serra and Murray lost too many games against him.

Troicki vs. Mayer


Saw parts of this match and not a surprise that the "German Gigolo 2" was doing well in this match. He has been rebuilding his ranking in the challengers and came in with some good form and his unorthodox game would throw Troicki off his game. The two handed jump dropshot is still a thing of awkward beauty and the forehand swing that goes for 5 minutes yet generates the same power as Volandri's first serve.

The third set was the key here and went to the tiebreaker and Troicki was getting pissed off big time, of course when you are losing it's easier to focus on external factors as to why this is the case. Giving stick to the female umpire, though Troicki is not in the same league as Roddick for this nonsense and the last set Mayer was just toying with him and quite fun to see.

Sorry Jess.

Berdych vs. Korolev

Not exactly the epitome of tactical sophistication in this match. Kazakhstani Korolev was hitting some big shots off both sides, this match was very streaky with lots of big hitting and some shots missing the court and almost ending up in the MCG.

Berdych started the better and had a break in the 1st set at 4-2, then a combo of big hitting by Korolev and some dumb stuff from Berdych loses 7 games in a row to lose the set and go down a break in the 2nd. Korolev going for more big shots and Berdych when playing from behind actually did a bit of defending to get the break back and then loses serve for the 2nd set. The 3rd set was more of the same Berdych breaks for 5-4 and can hardly land a first serve in that game and Korolev hit some big forehands off the weak serves and pushed Berdych behind the baseline for the break.

Korolev holds and then breaks for the match, not sure what to make of this, funnily enough Berdych actually hit a topspin forehand with more than 1mm clearance over the net, he still can't hit a kick serve and Safarova lost early so that impacted on him. Korolev did play quite well, but this performance was a bit comedic from Berdych.


Llodra vs. Monaco

Llodra starts the match serving bombs like Ivanisevic and volleying like Edberg which in turn frustrates Monaco who can't get into the extended rallies and Llodra streaks his way to a 2 set to love lead. Monaco is a fighter though and even when down a break in the 3rd set, it didn't feel like he was out of the match. Llodra couldn't keep that level up with the shoelace volley winners and finding the corners with the serve in addition to pounding winners from the baseline. Monaco breaks back as he is able to get some rallies going and Llodra drops his level naturally. The end of the 3rd set was hilarious with both players breaking each other and falling into a tiebreaker, which Monaco shades thankfully.

After taking the 3rd set Llodra goes into tank mode once Monaco gets the second break of serve who is able to get to play the match finally on his terms and into the 5th set Llodra lifts his level, but Monaco's was in the groove and was able to complete his first two sets to love comeback.

Almagro vs. Becker

"Cabezon" Almagro starts well, using the heavy serve to open up the court and hitting heavy from both wings, even the feet seem to be moving better than usual which is a good sign for him. He has the greater weight of shot and able to use that to take a 2 sets to 0 lead. Becker kept fighting and lifted his level of play by taking more chances and being aggressive which paid off for him. Almagro's level didn't drop too much, it was more of a case of Becker stepping it up.

For the 2nd time in a row Almagro was in a 5 setter after winning the first 2 sets and just like in the previous round against Malisse. "Cabezon" was able to focus and not get too pissed off with himself and took his break chance when it came around. There were times when it got like this, that Almagro would whine like a bitch and not focus on the match and then it would be done when we woke up.

Youzhny vs. Hajek

Youzhny didn't have to do much in this match as Hajek as much as I like the guy was woeful. Not sure if he just felt crap mentally or was ill from bad food in the players restaurant. He had a lot of variation in this match, but not in the right way sadly. It was more of variation of errors, had it all footfaults, missing smashes long, bouncing twice before hitting the net or missing open court shots. It was a contrast from the performance against Gineprick, then again he was playing someone better than that.

Hajek must be kicking himself after Youzhny withdrew in his 3rd round match against Kubot with a wrist problem.

Koubek vs. Dodig


The match between the two qualifiers, one the experienced Koubek and the other Dodig who is limited as a player but does fight hard. The first set was hard fought and once Koubek took that, then Dodig run out of steam mentally wasn't moving his feet much, missing easy shots and Koubek just worked him over and ran away with the match easily.

Montañes vs. Robert


Got there at the end of the 2nd set and somehow Robert was up 2 sets to 0. From what I saw of Robert it wasn't too impressive and didn't have a doubt that Montañes would win this match. Fat Albert started serving better, using the angles to stretch Robert out wide and then worked him over with his forehand. Once he took the 3rd set then there was only one winner as Fat Albert worked Robert into the ground who was going for big winners to compensate for his lack of conditioning. This was working now and then, but Montañes was fitter and better once he got the short balls he dispatched them off either side.

He has improved quite a lot as I remember when he first came on tour he had a poor backhand, but now his backhand is solid and can hit some winners off that side on the right ball and it shows that he has won some tour titles now. Got to acknowledge when players have improved their game irrespective of your feelings towards them.

3rd Round:

Isner vs. Monfils

Monfils started off in some stoned daze and had no clue what was going on with the big tree Isner playing very confident and competent tennis ran through the set 6-1 with a mixture of massive serves, big forehands and some good touch at the net. He moves better than Karlovic and has a better forehand than the taller Croat.

After the slow start Monfils wakes up and starts playing a bit better taking his break chance in the 2nd. Monfils breaks in the 3rd set and is leading 4-1, then plays a stupid game full of errors which gives Isner the break back. From there Isner recovers from the lapse and is back to the form which he started the match with and playing full of confidence even hitting backhand winners now. Gets it to the 3rd set tiebreaker and takes it. There weren't many opportunites on serve for either guy in the 4th set, but the big Isner who loves the tiebreaks, played another excellent breaker and got the W.

Monfils got passive as well as being lazy and got punished for it.

Cilic vs. Wawrinka

This match was awful considering the ability of both guys. Cilic thought he was playing Tomic in the first set and it showed. Wawrinka just slightly better hence he took the 1st set, but after that Cilic progressed from crap to tepid and Wawrinka was just hitting balls for the sake of hitting balls, there was no thought process as to where the ball should be positioned on court for him to take advantage of his backhand down the line especially.

It got to the point that halfway through the match, a group of us guys in between points were focusing on this girl in the crowd who was around early 20s in glasses in a shortish skirt. She had good legs and let the whole male population know she was wearing a g-string not that it was a bad view at all. She was there for around a set and a half, but probably watched 1 or 2 points in total.

Cilic was trying to work some angles and Wawrinka was working the back fence, it was a poor showing from Stani. Thankfully the match ended in 4 sets, it was not quite as bad as a WTA match, but these guys can produce so much better over 110 unforced errors and almost half the winners in totals and it's not like these two are crafty players who try and force the errors from their opponent say like Nalbandian for example.

Davydenko vs. Monaco

It was very windy for this match and Monaco couldn't hit an elephants arse with a banjo in the first set, let alone find the court. Davydenko got into the rhythm of the match very quickly and was working Monaco around the court with ruthless precision. This result was not in doubt, just a difference in class levels. Davydenko's timing was first class in these conditions and Monaco was struggling with the conditions and the machine like qualities of Davydenko.

Almagro vs. Falla

Finally an easier match for Almagro against Falla who had vocal Colombian support, but Almagro kept them quiet with good all play and Falla looked like he was happy to make the 3rd round and didn't play aggressively at all. He gave the initative away and Almagro was quite happy with and took advantage of that. Unlike the ridiculous shit earlier on stupid Saturday it was actually quite easy to get a seat on the court for this match, but it was one way traffic all the way.

4th Round:


Tsonga vs. Almagro

Both of these guys are quite expressive and a good contrast of styles made for a fun and entertaining match. Before it started I thought Tsonga would have too many big guns and win it in 3 sets, but I was happy to be proven wrong in this one. Tsonga took the first 2 sets with the big serve and moving forward when he had the chance, unlike previous times Almagro didn't drop his head at all.

It was a pleasant surprise to see him fighting on and was able to hit some big forehands as well as his trademark backhand to get back into the match taking the 3rd set and he took the 4th set tiebreaker. The comeback possibility was there, that he could ride the momentum and steamroll his way to a 3rd 5 set win in the tournament. His running forehand winner off a smash by Tsonga 6m behind the baseline won't be forgotten.

The dumb dropshot serving at *7-8 at the first point of the game put him behind the game and from there big Tsonga was able to break for the match. Disappointing for Almagro, but good to see him fighting so hard when it's not always the case for him and it was a very entertaining match which was worth watching.

That was pretty much the live tennis I saw, there was some other stuff as well, but I will address that next

Random Stuff

- Oscar Hernandez knows about his Facebook Appreciation Society, even though he is not on Facebook anymore.

- Pico Monaco and Horacio Zeballos are very cynical about the chances of Argentina in the World Cup. Monaco "we'll be lucky to get out of the group" and Zeballos "we can't do nothing with this guy as coach".

- Marcos Daniel was arguing with a heckler and there was no woman involved at all, it was totally made up and he got cleared. He played doubles with Koellerer and said never again with this guy. "It was too much, he started screaming after 1 game I can't get the ball in the court". "I tell him it's alright don't worry about it Federer".

- Rui Machado overrating Portugal's chances thinking they will make the semis of the tournament.

- Louk Sorensen really has no neck.

- Got to talk to Thomas Muster he looks and speaks like a surfie. The wine business is going quite well and no I didn't ask him about Horst Skoff.

- Found it ironic that Mantilla and Muster were sitting 2 seats apart at the Nadal/Murray match especially after what happened between them previously.

- Monaco and myself walking stopped to watch the LaLo and Roddick match. Then both witnessing LaLo hitting a topspin backhand winner and looking at each other, how the fuck did that happen.

Now onto the people who I'd like to thank for many different reasons some will read this and others won't. This is not in any order at all.

Peta, Kristen (she looks much better than Henin), Sammy (my right hand man), big James, the drivers, the people at the practice desk who gave me info so others could get to the sessions first and get their pics and shit done. The man known as Gago, big Lance for the scoring updates and the Koellerer match which was fucking hilarious. Niko K for helping me out and partying with, big Mike the Jamaican legend always fun to see him, Jimbo, Paul McNamee for putting up with my questions, this person known as Kellie and last of all the people who let me stay at their place for 2 weeks while this tennis show was happening, they were wonderful.

It's done for another year and we'll see what happens next time.

Thursday, January 21, 2010

Dani Koellerer is entertainment, Seppi dumping an easy backhand and Hajek back in Down Under 1st Round Reports

Kavcic vs. Odesnik

Kavcic started the match well in these trying conditions which were windy at times in amongst the showers, which were on and off. It would drizzle, then shower down for about 10 minutes and the court would need time to dry and once they started they had to go off again. Kavcic took the first set as he was able to keep Odesnik on the back foot and got him to make errors on the backhand side.

Odesnik did the usual toilet break thing after the 1st set and with the delays stuffed up Kavcic's rhythm. Odesnik used his experience in handling the conditions better and was able to turn the match around using his forehand to dominate and Kavcic was just running and pushing the ball back and lost the mental battle. Especially after the 3rd set where on Odesnik's set point at 40-30, big Wayne hit one wide and long and it was missed.

Russell vs. del Potro

Brutal draw for Mike, but he didn't let that phase him. He started well and broke early, but he wasn't able to hold the initiative and was broken back immediately. He made a few more errors than usual because of the pressure of the Tandil tower's shots keeping the ball play just wasn't going towork.

The second set was similar as he pressed more on his serve than usual, because if he didn't hit a good second serve, then he was going to be fodder for del Potro and this happened more often than not. This lead to more double faults than usual.

Russell hit some excellent returns, there was a screaming backhand down the line winner as del Potro smacks an off forehand and Russell just redirects down the line for the winner. Mikey served out the 3rd set and deserved to win a set and he had a high first serve percentage and good serving as well.

Del Potro will be better for the workout in this one and as they say luck of the draw as Russell would have beaten a lot of players on this showing. The key is for guys like this to try and keep playing well when the draws become a bit easier.

Isner vs. Seppi

Slow start Seppi was at it again, he hates the morning matches and playing against the tree Isner isn't going to help get rhythm to wake up. The first two sets Seppi just gave up his early service game and Isner was dropping the bombs and able to hit the big forehand when the returns came back.

Isner's serve starts to go off a bit as Seppi is able to get more returns into play and once he does this, he is naturally the much better player. Seppi broke for the set, which given his record of serving out sets was beneficial.

The fourth set continues in much the same pattern with Isner serving huge, but Seppi is getting a better read on the ball and able to engage in rallies and breaking down Isner's weaker backhand side. Seppi steps it up and breaks to take the fourth set where he is serving first.

At this time it was the turning point of the match. Seppi misses a few first serves, but dumps 4 forehands halfway up the net with not much pressure on and after that lapse of concentration gets broken. He has a massive chance to get back on serve at 30-40. Isner rips a serve and Seppi returns it as Isner comes into the net bluffing and frames a shot which ends up being a mid court mishit and Seppi has an easy backhand pass but fucks it up. After that boom,boom, the match is over.

Got to say even after losing a match like this Seppi was very good with the fans he posed for about 5 or 6 photos after he lost, which not so many of them do.

Koellerer vs. Veic

Crazy Dani called for the trainer after one game and he has had some injury problems. Initially it was a stomach problem and then it was the lower back, but these things tend to get worse when one is losing.

Veic and Koellerer played only once in a Futures event and there was almost a fight. Veic is a small guy with a bit of stubble and the Björn Borg headband, he runs a lot and fights hard but doesn't have great weapons. These two had long rallies with Koellerer trying to vary the tactics and Veic defending well.

This match was put on Court 4 which is standing on one side and 3 rows on the other side, needless to say the rows were filled as were the aisles on that side and on the other side it was 10 deep and people from Court 6 at the Gulbis/Monaco match wanting to have a look,in addition to them clapping points in the Dani match and that interfered in the Monaco match.

Dani got a warning for audible obscenity and then said why didn't Veic get the same and a code for smashing the racquet. He bitched about the linecalls, when Veic said something it was along the lines of from Koellerer "shut up it's 8-1 to you in the line calls". He kicked a ball and then after Veic broke in the 5th set, he bitched about all the luck Veic was having.

Good win for Veic, but Koellerer and Monfils would have been all about the antics. Lots of players were watching this Darcis, Chris and Oli Rochus, Melzer, Nyström, Lapentti among them.

Giraldo vs. Robredo

Excellent stuff from the Colombian who was hitting very cleanly and flat, so this took time away from Robredo and he struggled to deal with it. It was similar to when Youzhny chopped Boredo at the US Open. Giraldo obviously isn't in that class, but he does have some ability and if he could get some consistency should be able to make the top 100 on that showing.

Koubek vs. Ram
Rajeev Rampras isn't a bad first round draw and Koubek improved from his qualifying performances against an opponent that plays differently from the ones he faced earlier.

Ram started well and was getting into the groove on serve and took the first set. He was serving and volleying well, but Koubek was playing a bit closer to the baseline than in previous matches and hitting the ball better so he was able to take the 2nd set.

Stef played a poor game and Ram was able to capitalise on it to take the set 7-5. Koubek got a bit of frustration out, but was able to read Ram's serve quite well and able to keep him away from the net and expose the lack of mobility on the baseline. The last 2 sets were comfortable for Koubek and he wasn't too passive and a big chance for the third round here.

Hajek vs. Ginepri

Good to see Hajek back in Australia after his bad experiences here last time. He had a great year last year almost cracking the top 100.

I thought he was a good chance to take this match against the robotic Ginepri. Hajek was having a problem with foot faults and getting called regularly, but he was outhitting Ginepri from the baseline off both sides. His forehand worked the angles and he used the backhand down the line to give it to Ginepri from all sides.

The first two sets were close in scoreline but Hajek had a bit more in the tank and tank is what Ginepri did in the last set, well that and Hajek raised his game.

One funny incident at the start of the 3rd set, the umpire says "Hajek to serve in the 3rd and final set" and Ginepri is bemused and says "hmm, the final set". The umpire had the vision for sure in this and Hajek was too good.

Hernandez vs. Montañes

The match of the best friends which is never easy at the best of times, especially since the King has a lower back problem something to do with the disc. He was getting a lot of treatment for it, but the first set they played was quite good tennis with Montañes being the more aggressive and using the sneaky serve to stretch the King out of court. It went to a TB and there was a forehand that the King had a chance to nail, but he pulled off the stroke and missed it. From there Montañes stepped it up and did the business.

At 2-1 in the second set the King took an injury timeout for the back problem, completed the next game won it and then retired. Naturally he was disappointed and Montañes showed his concern for his friend, but Oscar is still a man of the people and appreciated the support. Yes, he is aware of the Facebook group that honours him.


Istomin vs. Chardy

There must be something wrong with Chardy, as in off the court. I am not a fan of his and think he is just a ballbasher, but as much as I don't mind Istomin this was a very poor and useless showing from Chardy.

Youzhny vs. Gasquet

Richie was involved in another long epic match that he ended up losing from 2 sets up. The forehand doesn't seem as technically deficient as it was before and the backhand was working well and took the first two sets.

Youzhny was a bit slow to start, but not absolutely hideous, he starts to improve his game by being aggressive, there is a difference between ballbashing and being aggressive. Basically the difference was that Youzhny stepped it up when he needed to by being aggressive and didn't get down on himself too much when he went down a break in the 5th. He must have a thing for Frenchies coming back from 2 sets down. He should win against Hajek, just hope Jan is competitive in this one.


Yes, it's a bit late as there were so many matches on Tuesday, but should be on track soon.

Sunday, January 17, 2010

Aus Open Day 3 Qualies

Millman vs. Marchenko

Not much to say here except Marchenko has clearly improved and thumped Millman. Johnny didn't get enough depth on his shots and Marchenko owned the baseline and pushed him around and punished the short balls from Millman. This match showed where he is at currently, needs to step into the ball more and give it some more power it will help him make the next level as he has the fighting spirit.

Koubek vs Sweeting

Stefan started well here and was down an early break, but got it back and was playing the better tennis to take the first set. Sweeting has improved his level, but Koubek still has the advantage with the backhand working well. He manages to get 4 match points but plays them poorly either missed returns or passive shots that get dealt with from Sweeting. After all the match points Koubek ends up losing the second set in a tiebreaker.

The last set was full of drama, some good shots and some big misses as well. Koubek breaks and then loses the break straight away, he was not hitting the forehand at all, it was just rolling the ball in and Sweeting took the initiative. Same thing happened again to make it 7-7, then Koubek fires up and breaks and was able to serve the match out. Afterwards it was more relief than overt happiness that he got the cash.

Kavcic vs. Devvarman

This one was full of long rallies with Somdev playing not to miss and Kavcic being patient but unlike Devvarman decided to go for his shots when the opportunities arose.

With this play Kavcic was able to take the first set. The forehand was doing most of the damage. He then had an early break, had chances for the double break but was unable to so. Then Kavcic lost concentration and Somdev continued not to miss and found himself up 5-3, then got broken easily and Kavcic held for 5-5.

Then the fun and games started as Kavcic called for the trainer, wasn't sure what for at the time, but I found out later it was something to do with him seizing up literally with the pins and needles. It took ages for the trainer to come out and assess it. He gets that done and Somdev is pissed off big time.

It's get to the TB and Kavcic going for his shots got him into the main draw. Somdev refused to shake his hand and said when they went off "Looks like he is dying out there now".

Kavcic had a class celebration as well when he won and has a big chance against Odesnik.

Louk "no neck" Sorensen was struggling but always had too much for King-Turner. It was great that Zelmja beat his demons and made it through to the main draw of qualies after the choke last year against Sela.

AO Qualies Part 2

Przysiezny vs. Okun

Przysiezny wasn't playing well at all at the start. In the 2nd set He was started to move the ball around well and coming to the net to finish the point off. It was obvious that he was better than Okun in the rallies, but he was making some mistakes and let Okun hang around. The last set was better and Okun was crushed mentally and Przysiezny finished well.

Zemlja vs. Devilder

Devilder is just coming back on tour and is very much at his best on clay. Zemlja had the greater weight of shot and was comfortable in this match for the whole time and was never in danger of losing this one.

Sorensen vs. Yani

Big "no neck" Louk Sorensen the Irish player who lives in Germany and speaks excellent German against the flat hitter Yani. From the parts of the match I saw there were some long rallies with Yani trying for the flat shots with very little margin for error and Sorensen defending well and using his forehand to move Yani wide. It was a hard fought match as it should be at this stage of the game, but "The Neck" Sorensen's consistency was the key factor here.

Brown vs. Rufin

Rufin had an excellent serving day and didn't do much that was memorable from the baseline, he was just getting back. The 1st set didn't have many chances and Brown started off awfully in the tiebreak and lost it easily.

He didn't give up but wasn't playing his usual variations of spins and dinks, both were holding comfortably. He stepped it up in the tiebreaker and hit a wonderful forehand slapshot down the line to get him to set point and took it.

The 3rd set was more of the same from both, but Dreddy got the break at 4-3, but as we know the most important time to hold serve is after they have broken. Brown has a big serve and he missed every first serve that game and Rufin was able to break back. Brown was down match points and saved one with a diving volley and his head almost hit the cement. He lot due to some poor play at the wrong moments, but he wins at life.

Millman vs. Oswald

Millman started well and was able to break Oswald early and move him around the court, as he is a big guy able to expose his lack of mobility. The second set Oswald was serving better and able to get short returns and bossed the points around and was making Millman do a lot of road work and took out the second set.

The third set was similar with Oswald serving big and hitting good shorts and Millman fighting hard, but getting pushed behind the baseline very easily and losing ground. Millman lost his serve easily and Oswald is up 5-3 and then he calls for the trainer for cramp. The umpire says wait for the next change of end and Millman breaks Oswald as he serves for the match. The change of ends the trainer comes out and Oswald says he doesn't want the trainer. This changed the momentum and Millman breaks again and takes the match, this was won on fighting spirit.

Bogomolov Jr vs. Machado

Machado started slowly and lost serve early and that cost him the first set as both guys were holding fairly comfortably after that. Machado was trying to use the big forehand and Bogo used his backhand down the line to catch Machado out when hitting off forehands.

The 2nd set was close, but Bogmolov was taking his chances when he created them. He had a chance to serve for the match and Machado played a good game and broke, then he lost his serve with some errors and then Bogo held on to win. Machado was not impressed with the umpire known as the "French Peacock" Pascal Maria and had about a 3 minute dialouge with him after the match.

Kavcic vs. Tosic

Kavcic was much better after that nonsense first match. He was hitting the ball cleaner and moving well, whereas Tosic after his big win against Bozoljac looked flat and couldn't move his feet at all and was just fodder in this one.

Koubek vs. Im

Koubek always had this in control, but was dozing off at times. Once again he had the advantage and didn't drive it home, being passive and rolling the ball instead of hitting the thing, but it was clearly good enough against this opponent.

Wednesday, January 13, 2010

Australian Open Day 1 Qualies

AO Qualies Day 1

Yes, here it is the reports for the Aussie Open have started again. How much sense this will make is dependant on the persons individual tastes, state of alertness and whatever other random condition.

Got to get the important stuff out of the way first. The AO fashion gurus have decided to deck the umpires out in lime green, well allegedly it's lime green but in fact it blends with the tennis balls, so it's tennis ball green and Malisse would have another reason to get annoyed on court. The ballkids are wearing hot pink well they will stand out for sure, though any potential homophobes wearing this does have a certain humour value.

There was a firecracker that went off from these random Aussies who were cheering on Santos against Kindlmann, they didn't last long after that.

Koubek vs. DeHeart

Koubek isn't as fashionable as before, but he has hall of fame status with the yellow shorts. He started out making too many mistakes initially, but was able to keep holding his serve easily enough. Then at 4-4 15 all deHeart says "hey these balls are flat", then tosses them to Koubek who has that usual half asleep expression and then agrees. After that Koubek is defending well and pressing deHeart into going for more shots and in the process making more errors. Koubek hits a forehand down the line on his set point to take it 7-5.

The second set continues on the same path as the end of the first, extended rallies with deHeart hitting some average slice backhands and Koubek some cannon fodder dropshots, he manages to get the break early in the 2nd.

As he pressed for the double break he started the very loud grunts, the grunting sounded like a Mercedes but had the power of a Lada, then deHeart gets into the act as well with the over grunting he is trying to be a Harley and ends up being a Vespa. Koubek had the chance for the double break but was too passive, at the same time deHeart was generous after an elongated rally he has Koubek on the back fence and misses a volley that even Andreev would have put away. He eventually breaks back, but Koubek stepped it up and played some excellent passing shots along with good defence broke at 5-4, then served it out easily.

Dimitrov vs. Kendrick

Tough match for the Bulgarian and didn't get to see much, just from 2-3 in the 3rd set. It was basically Dimitrov hitting a winner, then an error with Lundgren having a bemused look but still encouraging him. Kendrick wasn't being too mouthy this time and when he had the chance, he came forward to the net to finish the points off. His extra experience was the main thing that got him over the line in this one.

Phau vs. del Bonis

Phau the guy who lost to cockchimp Klein in the 1st round last year and one of the fastest guys on tour against the Argentine. Del bonis wasn't playing too badly, hitting some heavy shots but had a concentration lapse in the 2nd set to go down 4-0, and ended up losing that one 7-5. Phau the little running machine just got too many shots back into court.

Millman vs. Vagnozzi

One of the few Aussies players I genuinely like and he is a very good man. The conditions had been very changeable with the gusts of wind coming up at various times and forcing the players to adjust mid stroke. Millman always had this match in control and Vagnozzi today played like Cipolla, except he had a topspin forehand and also his touch volleys were successful. Millman didn't serve to well, but was solid from the baseline in so much the conditions allowed at times he was a bit too passive waiting for the ball to come to him when it was short, but he defended well when Vagnozi could use his forehand.

It was one of those matches where it was clear who was going to win, but at this time of the day it was very difficult with the wind and the sun making an appearance as it started out cloudy.

MaChado vs. Klein

Both were holding serves fairly well and Machado had one break point at 4-4, but Klein saved it. From there Machado stepped it up and was using his forehand to dominate the rallies and was able to break then serve out the set at 7-5.

Klein glares over in our direction a few times after Machado has won a point. Once the 2nd set started Klein dropped his bundle and with that the forehand breaking down, which Machado was exploiting with his greater weight of shots. Klein starts whining about "stopping missing sitter forehands", which he does the next point afterward.

Peta Pan who was there as well, was cheering Machado on, she clapped a bit louder than usual and cockchimp Klein was seething. Some of the other Aussie qualie players were standing near us watching the match and were quite satisfied that Machado gave Klein a good beatdown in the last set. The "kaffir" comments definitely have not endeared him to his peers, which is surprising I guess.

Kavcic vs. Soeda

This match had the Silver Fox Sanguinetti coach of Soeda and the first match of the year for the animated Slovene. This was a very hard fought match with extended rallies. Kavcic didn't play a very smart match, he was always hitting to the open court and Soeda runs everything down always leaning to that side, yet Kavcic only went back behind him once in the whole match and won the point while doing so. Kavcic was using his forehand to set the play up and move Soeda around and he was trying to make the play for the majority of the match. Soeda kept getting everything back and frustrating the hell out of Kavcic who was commentating on every point. He had the break in the 1st set and was unable to hold onto it, a mix of passive play when in the lead and his dogged opponent. Soeda plays a better tiebreak and wins it, while Kavcic is getting pissed off. Soeda calls for the trainer and gets a massage on his legs, allegedly it was an injury but it was cramps.

Kavcic tries to make him run, but struggling to get the balance right between the dropshots, lobs and the drives as Soeda keeps making shots. Kavcic keeps his cool long enough to get the 2nd set. The 3rd set is more of the same plenty of grinding with both guys trying to dominate off the forehand. Kavcic creating the chances to break, but can't hold the break losing it straight away. Kavcic through some quality defensive skills and errors from the tiring Soeda breaks for 5-3, but plays a clown game to get broken. The self commentary gets louder and louder, but Kavcic manages to hit a winning shot to take the match, which he came close to blowing badly.

There were only about 5 Kavcic fans and most of the crowd were Japanese and Kavcic's coach wrote at least 25 pages of notes on this match.

Dustin Brown vs. Klec

Dreddy had enough money to afford the plane ticket as it has not been easily financially for him on the tour. The hair was immaculate and the game was very varied, there were some chip shots, a few dinks, then some big forehands and lobs, then some of the biggest and easiest misses. Dustin was getting a bit fired up there and he was doing his swearing in German. It was one of the matches, just happy to get it over with. At times he served well, then at others the big serve went missing as he and Klec traded breaks, but Dustin was able to focus long enough to get the win.

He was doing well off the court as well, but that's no surprise.

Malisse made the 2nd set harder for himself against Kuznetsov, he really should qualify comfortably here and it's a relief to him that he is back out there playing on the proper court and not the law court.

Nadal was around watching Marc Lopez play, it was the time I left that match, but there is evidence he was there as Peta took pics. Big Sam Querrey was watching DY and personally I love the fact he just lopes around the place and doesn't get pegged for a tennis player. Matosevic as well smiling the whole time I saw him, but maybe I should have mentioned Seppi's serve that irritated the hell out of him.

Last of all the regal one "The King" Oscar Hernandez was there in all his splendour and showing his caring nature watching as many of his countrymen as possible.