Tennis in the Olympics and Marc Rosset 1992 Barcelona

It's that time again. Where once every 4 years for 2 weeks the worlds biggest sporting carnival dominates the global sporting landscape. There is the explosion of instant experts in sports where these people have never seen before, the most recent example the amount of British cycling experts after Brad "Sideboards" Wiggins win the Tour de France.

Whether tennis deserves to be in the Olympics is a debatable, though there are many sports in the Games that are of questionable merit. In theory an Olympic gold medal should be the pinnacle of their chosen sport, this is definitely not the case in tennis where the Grand Slams take precedence. Golf which is coming into the Rio games has their majors this won't change. Football which has only been out of two Olympiads know that Olympic gold won't match the World Cup, or major continental championships. They have settled on Under 23s with three overage players which has worked effectively since they decided to officially open the games to professional athletes in 1992.


Mecir Gold in Seoul 88

Returning to the Olympics

Tennis came back into the 1984 LA games as a demonstration event. In Seoul it became a proper event won by the unique and languid Slovak Miloslav Mecir, who was representing Czechoslovakia at that time. With the corporatisation of the Olympics professional athletes were allowed to compete in 1992 Barcelona. The notion of amateurism in the top sports was flawed in the former Communist countries they had nominal jobs but were professional athletes. The brown envelopes with guarantees were always paid to the top stars in their chosen sports.

Prestige is a concept like many is interpreted in different ways. One to suit a particular viewpoint and the other within tennis is environmental. An example of the former is when Rafael Nadal won gold in Beijing therefore the Olympic gold is somehow more prestigious than when Nicolas Massu in 2004 who is the only man to win the singles and doubles. Kafelnikov in 2000 or Marc Rosset in Barcelona, the upcoming subject of this article. The latter is the arrogant notion that every single tennis player that ever lived or won a Slam would trade their titles for one at Wimbledon.


Massu and Gonzalez Chilean gold medalists

Roger Federer hasn't won an Olympic gold medal in singles and would love to do so at Wimbledon his favourite place besides Basel. He said "it would be a “dream come true, because I definitely get inspired by the 1992 victory" and nominates Rosset as his Olympic hero.

Barcelona 1992

Marc Rosset came into the Barcelona Olympics ranked 44 having won two career titles one in his hometown of Geneva in 1999 on the clay, the other in Lyon 2000 on carpet. There were no indicators that he was among the major medal contenders. Rosset was happy to be there at the Games, he stayed in the Olympic village as did his good friend Goran Ivanisevic which is unusual for the higher ranked tennis players who are used to more salubrious surroundings. “It was too bad the Swiss tennis federation could only come up with tickets to modern pentathlon and archery, and said that the beer wasn't cold enough in the athletes' village”. Rosset said

As an unseeded player Rosset didn’t benefit from an easy draw. In the 1st round he defeated Karim “The Dream” Alami the Moroccan with a lot of talent who later went on to defeat Sampras later in his career, who retired in the 3rd set. In the second round he smashed South African Wayne Ferreira ranked 13th for the loss of 6 games. Unlike the other Games which came after Barcelona the matches were best of 5 sets starting from the 1st round in both singles and doubles.

The Courier didn't deliver

It was in the 3rd round where Rosset really made his mark where he took apart world number 1 Jim Courier 6-4 6-2 6-1. Courier at the time was the fittest, strongest and most powerful player on the tour. He dominated Roland Garros in 1992 crushing good claycourt players like Thomas Muster, Andrei Medvedev, Alberto Mancini, then lost his only set in the tournament to Ivanisevic before thumping Agassi and Korda.

Rosset being 2m tall built his game on his huge powerful serve and forehand instead of trying to hit through Courier he outsmarted him on the clay. Courier was one of the first players just to camp in the backhand corner and thump off forehands. Apart from the usual Rosset tactics in the rallies, he was hitting slice backhands and changes of pace down the line to Courier’s forehand side keeping him off balance, so he couldn’t his favourite forehand from the backhand corner. The American was so frustrated, it got to the point where the very ugly side of Courier on court was rampant, cursing linesmen, then being the frustrated baseballer because Rosset threw him out of his rhythm and after the match Rosset accused Courier of tanking. Rosset’s tactics contributing to Courier acting like a baby and throwing his toys out of the pram.

Next up for the giant Swiss was Emilio Sanchez who grew up in Barcelona and a tough player on the clay. Sanchez didn’t have a big weapon and the slice backhand stayed very low which he used to get Rosset out of position. Rosset battling against the loud and vocal crowd, as well as a tough opponent got it done in 4 sets winning 11-9 in the tiebreaker.

In the semi finals big Rosset played his great friend Ivansievic, when asked what their matches are normally like. Goran answered “aces and double faults’. This particular case was different the lactic bear got Ivanisevic and mauled him to the ground, so it was an easy win for Rosset. Ivanisevic defeated Mota, Haarhuis, Hlasek and Santoro all in 5 sets in addition to playing 4 doubles matches losing the semi finals in 5 sets.

While Ivanisevic didn’t win the gold, he was very happy winning two bronze medals for Croatia. "Those people who are fighting there for freedom. It means a lot to them”. This was a true Herculean effort from Ivanisevic and remains along with his Wimbledon win one of his career highlights "It's very special to become the first Croatian to win a medal for all our people," Ivanisevic said, after defeating France's Fabrice Santoro in five hard-fought sets in a fierce midday sun. "When you play for your country, you really want to fight. I felt very motivated today."

Gold Medal Match

Jordi Arrese was Rosset’s opponent in the final he had a much easier route to the final, in spite of this he was battling an abdominal strain. There was some drama with his selection though Arrese was originally selected in the team. Carlos Costa who is now better known as the agent for Rafael Nadal and David Nalbandian went on a great run of form reaching the top 10 and they wanted to replace Arrese. Costa in a magnificent gesture refused to do take the position which would have left his friend Arrese out of the Games for which he had been preparing for all year.

No, the match wasn’t been two major stars but it was what the Olympics should be about. Two guys fighting very hard for their countries in pursuit of the gold medal. As this event was best of 5 throughout the tournament, even more significantly that unlike the tournament today there were no ranking points so players and fans knew which players truly wanted to play this event.

Rosset started well dominating with his serve and forehand taking the first two sets but Arrese was famous for his limitless endurance could say he was a running machine just getting every ball back. He stepped into the court and started moving the big man around in brutal conditions. Barcelona was hot, humid, the clay was very slow and once Arrese got the 3rd set the crowd were boisterous in trying to get Arrese over the line. There were signs "Endavant Jordi, Catalunya es amb tu," meaning "Go forward Jordi, Catalonia is with you"

Arrese had the momentum took the 4th set and Rosset thought about retiring from the match as he was exhausted, dehydrated and struggling to move "A couple of times I wanted to go to the locker room and drink a few Cokes." ."But when I was thinking of stopping, I knew everybody is going to kill me. You can't just quit because you are tired." Rosset said. The Catalan crowd were giving him a hard time not clapping the winners and cheering enthusiastically the double faults as much as Arrese’s winners.


Last 2 games of the match watch from 07:00 if no attention span

Two sets all and the fun started the main question could Arrese and 7000 screaming fans get him over the line or Rosset being able to resist the tough conditions and the crowd. Thankfully for Rosset it started to get cloudier and looking at his coach plus his 3 other fans in the stadium inspired him to keep going from 5-5 he didn’t lose a point on serve. At *6-7 with Arrese at 40-15, Rosset manages to get to deuce and then the mental battle was truly on. Since the video is uploaded, follow the links if the readers want to see the whole set. The two attached are the last two games and the ceremony, so the video can sum up the respective feelings better than most people could.

It’s easy to see why as a youngster Federer would be inspired by this surprising and brilliant gold medal from Rosset. He beat the world number 1 and reigning Roland Garros champion for the loss of 7 games, apart from Alami the others were ranked in the top 30. His victory wasn’t about the ranking points, just getting out there competing for the love of sport and representing your nation.


Victory ceremony


Rosset with the gold


Rosset winning an Olympic gold in tennis doesn’t mean it lacks prestige because he wasn’t a big star at the time, the same goes for Massu and Kafelnikov. Rosset has another take on it “OK, I’m Olympic champion, but as a tennis player, for me 20 years ago to win the 100 metres in track and field this is something for the Olympics but tennis it was maybe not in the mind of the tennis player in that it was not a priority in the way that it came to be with Agassi, with Nadal, with all those guys who said 'OK I want to get the Olympic medal' so it became something big for the tennis players right now. “The feeling was special because I was the only medal for the whole country; I was lucky in that way that I was the only one – it was a nice feeling when I came back home.”


Rosset comes back to Geneva

Thomas Muster who was an outstanding competitor especially for Austria has a different view. "It's the greatest thing for swimmers and track-and-field athletes: Muster said. "They've been working for years for a medal. But we have four Grand Slams and the Masters, and every week there is a goal. I don't think tennis should be there".

As for tennis being in the Olympics it probably shouldn’t be there, but there are more sports that deserve to be axed. Since it’s established now, the best option is to scrap ATP points awarded for the Games. It’s not like they can be defended next year or in 4 years on the Entry System. No, it’s not expected they stay in village or forgo financial payment in this case. The athletics stars don’t get points for their Diamond League series at the Olympics and the same principle should apply to tennis. Muster touches on one of the main problems of tennis at the Games. Ranking points shouldn’t be offered at Davis Cup level and especially not at the Olympics, but one can dream.

Who knows whether Massu, Mecir or Rosset would trade their Olympic gold medal for a Slam victory, the fact they are Olympic champions will never change and competing at the Games is an unique experience that can’t be measured in ranking points.

Båstad, Umag, Stuttgart. The Summer clay that won't go away

For many tennis fans and 100% of the casual ones think the tennis season is over with the end of Wimbledon. Yes, some guy called Roger Federer won his 17th Grand Slam and the best way to sum it up is from former Swiss Davis Cup captain and Geneva's finest Marc Rosset. "All the people who said that the champ !!!! Would never be n1 again and never win another slam will shut up and apologise if federer wins !!! ". There were bumper sales of humble pie this week.

With this out of the way, for the people who realise the sport exists out of the Slams this is the summer clay season where tournaments are held in Båstad, Umag, Stuttgart, Gstaad, Hamburg and Kitzbühel. No, they can't be held earlier in the year due to climatic conditions. Got the beaches of Båstad and Umag, the mountains of Kitzbühel plus The Londoner Pub which is a must visit. Gstaad which is the highest stop on the main tour, though getting rösti under 50 CHF is next to impossible.


Båstad Centre Court


Umag

Hamburg had their TMS status downgraded when the ATP chased the cash for Shanghai, where they don’t get crowds apart from the big players. Shanghai is all sizzle and no steak as for Hamburg, its status is like the woman who was very attractive but has faded due to circumstances not always in their control.

Tennis doesn’t stop at Wimbledon and begin again at the US Open

As per usual there are the critics whining why are there clay tournaments in Europe after Wimbledon. Well clay is the most common surface in Europe and outdoor tennis in theory should be a summer sport. At the same time Stockholm outdoors in October night matches using Tretorn balls could be a fun experiment.

It's simple and practical reasons why Europeans and South Americans want to play in these events, first of all there is the surface factor, second of all many are playing in the German Bundesliga which is the most lucrative tennis league in the world. It's commonsense to play the summer clay events for these players, it keeps expenses down, earn some good money in the process. Normally the contracts are that ATP tournaments will get precedence, but if they lose early in these events then they are available to play for their teams whose matches are normally on Sundays, sometimes they play double headers with rounds on Friday.

These tournaments have a long history and another factor before the age of Twitter and the internet yes tennis existed before then was in the USA their summer tournaments were played on green clay as a lead up to the US Open. Once they changed the surface to hardcourts for the US Open, then those tournaments which were green clay followed. The reality for most American players they don't come over to Europe too soon for the spring clay season which in some ways is understandable. The extended time away from the US, though in their case the adjustment from hardcourt to clay is more difficult than vice versa. It's a case of practicality in scheduling and in the case of the summer clay events, it's the last big opportunity for points on the main tour for many players in the 60-100s without dropping down to Challengers.


With that carnival called the Olympics this really stuffed up the summer clay season where Båstad, Stuttgart and Umag are all this week. Next year Umag will be back in its regular position, so the fields for all the events suffered plus players who did well in both events couldn't defend these points. Båstad and Umag party places on the beach. Båstad always wins best International Series/250 event on tour, plus Stuttgart gets a good field with the location for Bundesliga players plus the incentive of winning a free Mercedes if they win the title.

Båstad

Not the best field this year for the event, it didn't help when former finalist Tomas Berdych and Gael Monfils withdrew before the tournament began. In spite of this there were some good performances in the tournament.

Mr. Prostejov Jan Hajek making his first ever ATP semi final with wins over Del Bonis, former top 20 player Jarkko Nieminen who was awful in the 1st set but Hajek was very solid from both sides in this match. The quarter final against Jurgen Zopp was very tough, the conditions weren't easy, plus both playing for their first ever semi final on the ATP tour. Hajek wasn't quite to the level he shows at Prostejov, but with this performance he makes the US Open direct.







In the semis against Almagro he was just outclassed by the better player, though Almagro struggled during the week with shoulder problems. This was the one match of the week where Almagro played well, It was clear to see the difference in class between the level Hajek has been playing at for most of the year on the Challengers and Almagro.


El Cabezon Almagro with shoulder problem

During the tournament there was a classic comment from the English commentator. He said "it's windy here". Well this is what happens when the location of the courts are right next to the beach, funny thing called a sea breeze these occur at seaside locations.

Lost Opportunity

Daniel Gimeno-Traver the week in Båstad will be mixed for him. He made the quarter finals showing some glimpses of the form he had in Monza. On ability wise he should be a comfortable fixture in the top 100, a solid powerful serve, a heavy forehand with plenty of power. The big weaknesses are the backhand which at times is club level and the mental side. Sports psychologists aren't for everyone, but the weaknesses always get highlighted when under pressure, it's how they are dealt with in these situations.

While making the quarter finals, getting back into the top 100 and making the US Open direct are positive things. The flipside is that his loss against Almagro an opponent who was struggling with his shoulder is one of those that will sting, an opportunity of playing Jan Hajek for a place in the final. Stats don't always tell the true story, they need to be applied and in this case the fact that DGT won only 1 from 12 break points in this match was the reason he lost it.

He was better from the baseline dominating with the forehand, even the backhand was reasonable, yes on a few of the break points there were some poor ones which related to my point earlier with the pressure and weaknesses. The fact he was creating so many chances but not converting that build up of pressure normally has consequences. At the start of the 3rd set in the first two Almagro service games, he had 5 break points, none of these were saved through Almagro's great play more down to DGT not taking the chance.


Gimeno-Traver the face doesn't lie

Then the game DGT got broken in the 3rd he was up 40-30 in the game missed an easy shot, then on a deuce point coming to the net on Almagro's better side the backhand and lost serve on a double fault. Almagro served it out and lucky Båstad is a fun place in the summer with plenty of places to go out, since this kind of match with so many chances and blowing it. This is not something I recommend, but in this case getting very drunk on the night would be the perfect remedy, drinking to forget.


David Ferrer interview

Now for the champion David Ferrer won his second Båstad title, but he wasn't anywhere near the level of his 2007 triumph but he didn't need to be during the week. Ferrer is like the rite of passage for youngsters on tour. They are full of piss and vinegar, yet when Ferrer is finished with them they have the letter L in the column. Yes, he is limited when it comes to natural talent compared to many other players, but young players should look to him as an example to follow in making the most of his talents.

Perhaps not the fact that Ferrer used to smoke like Ostrava or Detroit when they were in their peak industrial days. Next year Båstad will have a lot more money for appearance fees and not be stuffed by the calendar.



David Ferrer

Thomas Enqvist, Magnus Norman and the King of Eskilstuna Kent Carlsson were inducted into the Swedish Tennis Hall of Fame. Unlike Enqvist, the other two had ability to play on the clay. It was good to see Carlsson again, yes he is the one on the right.

Thomas Enqvist, Magnus Norman and Kent Carlsson in Swedish Hall of Fame


Umag

Sunny Umag where they have the tournament organised very efficiently no matches starting before 5pm which is commonsense. It's so hot, everyone is on the beach or recovering from the night before. In this environment this is where Carlos Moya ruled as the King of Umag, had the theory do well on the court, do even better off the court.

Since Slovenia doesn't have an ATP event and Umag is close this is like the de facto home event. Unfortunately it involved another Blaz Kavcic choke, big one as well. Think it's time for the yoga or meditation now. Once it can happen losing from a set and a double break up, but this is the third time yes it's a problem that needs addressing. Getting tight, can't hit through the ball, the legs are heavier than a sumo wrestler, struggling to relax the breathing. We all know the signs.

Worst of all, this choke was against Wayne "The Rat" Odesnik. Mr. Odesnik was caught trafficking HGH, but tennis is a joke when it comes to doping controls. Within this environment and Odesnik allegedly snitching on other players to get his suspension reduced which worked, this is the definition of a rat. The snitching thing is more of an issue than the drugs which are rampant in pro sport. He has fought his way back from not having any ranking points to just outside the top 100. Thankfully Marin Cilic finished off what Kavcic should have done.

Yes, while this was a ridiculous choke. There was one worse performance from the hostess Matea Dominiković thought she could sing as she did a duet with Alex Dolgopolov. Her performance was worse than Volandri's serve, Michael Berrer's smash and Danai Udomchoke on clay. The kindest thing that could be said was that scores of cats being castrated sounded better than this.



Dolgopolov's hearing must have been impacted as he lost his next match to Cilic. Just hope Alex isn't scarred from her as his performance wasn't that bad. Sure, it wasn't quite as good as Carl Lewis, but good for Alex having some fun with it. He definitely should be Ukraine’s next Eurovision entrant. His match against Fognini was just a festival of funk that George Clinton wouldn't have been out of place at.

Thankfully Marin Cilic gave the local crowd something to celebrate with a comfortable win in the final over Marcel Granollers. Marcel was up 4-2 in the set, but once Cilic broke back and got into his rhythm he only lost another 2 games for the match.


Marin Cilic wins Umag

This was a comprehensive title win unlike the farce with Nalbandian at Queens. No person not even Daniel Koellerer but perhaps only Wayne Odensik wouldn’t mind winning a title on a default. Cilic has an excellent work ethic, not too arrogant for a pro tennis player, the main problem with him is the biomechanics on the forehand which can break down when under pressure. He is rebuilding his season quietly after injury problems which forced him to miss the Australian Open

Stuttgart

Janko Tipsarevic took the title and won the Mercedes for his wife. Well it's the best present as Mercedes are good cars plus he didn't pay for it. I still remember Gaston Gaudio losing at Stuttgart three times, next time I am going to steal the car.



Janko Tipsarevic with new Mercedes
Tipsarevic's reaction was honest to say the least. "I don't know how I won this event". Yes, he was down 4 match points against Phau who managed to beat Lukas Rosol earlier in the event. In fact Phau managed to defeat Rosol twice in a week, since he beat him in the Bundesliga as well. It wouldn’t matter if Rosol doesn’t win another match all season, he did what was necessary.

Dustin Dreddy Brown aka the real Dustin Brown not that guy who plays NHL. He made the quarter finals after saving match points. After losing to Garcia-Lopez in the quarter finals, he had to catch a train to Gstaad for the qualies. Brown likes playing at altitude, it helps his serve and Gstaad is just over 1000m. To make the main draw, he had to double duty first he beat Navarro in 3 sets, then after this he saved 6 match points against the feisty Joao Sousa.

For those who don’t like or enjoy the summer clay events, they will be over soon. Thankfully there are individuals who realise tennis doesn’t begin and end at Wimbledon.

Thoughts from Roland Garros

As the saying goes, the more things change, the more they stay the same. Yes, it's apt for the men's tour especially at this moment coming up to the quarter finals of any Grand Slam Federer, Djokovic and Nadal are there and Roland Garros was no different. So, this piece will focus on the other things of interest that happened in the tournament.

Yes, the French still love their Sunday starts. The take on this idea depends on whether you believe the FFT really care for fans and providing an extra day for matches is through benevolence. The reality is different, it's just a way for the tournament to make extra money which will help pay for the much needed redevelopment of the Roland Garros site. After the experiment where they put Roger Federer on a Sunday against Diego Hartfield and Federer was less than amused after winning his match "I can drive to and back from Switzerland before my next round match". Needless to say they didn't put any more big stars on this day after this experiment.

With this out of the way, there have been some entertaining moments in the earlier rounds. Breakthroughs, resurgence, one of the candidates for worst match of the year, grunting drama and some on court arguments all good fun.

Kavčič Defends

After Grega Žemlja and Aljaž Bedene failed to qualify for the main draw, it was up to Blaž Kavčič to carry Slovenian hopes and fortunately he was able to defend his 2nd round points from last year. Yes, it doesn't sound like much of an achievement considering how poor he has been this season it's quite good.


Blaž Kavčič celebrates

He defeated Hewitt in the 1st round, who received the Aussie wildcard which was a debatable decision in itself. Can see why people thought Marinko Matosevic should have got it for his improvement during the season and doing well on the clay, but they went for the old name and at least with this the Kavčič match was able to seen, if he played Matosevic then wouldn't have seen a rare win. It was quite good for Hewitt being out there 4 hours after the surgery, suffering no ill effects but what told him was the lack of match play. Can do all the work you want in the gym, running track or the forest but it doesn't get much tough which Kavčič is though he hasn't had a good season so far.


Blaž Kavčič hits shot of the day

After an awful first set Kavčič played quite well against Djokovic even up an early break in the 2nd set but he doesn't have the weapons besides determination to really trouble the top guys and lost in straight sets. Back to the Challengers and then Wimbledon, it's an interesting time for Kavčič it's been almost a year since he and Adrian Voinea parted ways, yet there hasn't been any improvement on what they built on. Sometimes it's better to get quality coaching and not have someone travel all the time, than the situation with Trupej who hasn't helped Kavčič since he has been in the job.

Fabio Fognini Files


The Fog showing his stuff

What's Roland Garros without a Fabio Fognini 5 setter, if we didn't have one of them then that's like Nadal not winning the tournament. This time the victim was Viktor Troicki who played one of the worst matches on tour to beat Thomaz "The Ostrich" Bellucci in 5 sets both guys were hideously awful. Troicki was just running and grinding, Bellucci making dumb errors. Troicki serves for 3nd set: broken three times in a row, 5-2 to 5-7. Troicki serves for 4th set: broken, Bellucci gets broken back to love. Troicki serves for 5th set: broken and Bellucci gives it back. The match was so bad the spectators should have been given their money back and a percentage of Troicki's and Bellucci's prizemoney for that pollution.

Fognini thankfully took out Troicki in 5 sets after saving 2 match points. The match was classic Fog looked bored junk balling back and forth, then going for a slapped forehand when he felt like it. The 5th set well "The Fog" was up a break then lost serve from 40-0 up. Somehow through the Fog's carelessness Troicki gets 2 match points, but on the first one Fog slipped and Troicki had so much room he could drive a truck down the line with the backhand and misses once this happened. Troicki was picking on the ballkids and wanting the court to be watered, but he was trolled by "The Fog". Third year in a row Fognini has a dramatic 5 setter at Roland Garros which he won, he dances to his own tune but it brings entertainment.

Welcome back Paulo

On the entertainment theme it was fantastic to see Paul-Henri Mathieu back on court again at Roland Garros after knee surgery. He didn't have much form coming into the event, but he got a wildcard which in this case was deserved. Coming back from 2 sets down against Björn Phau, it's only the second time he has done it and both at this venue. Apart from his booming groundstrokes and aggressive game he is infamous for his chokes and ability to lose big leads by becoming too tense.

Surprise surprise John Isner was involved in another long match with a Frenchman and Boris Becker who had spent too much time in the broom closet kept calling PHM Mahut instead of Mathieu. Sure they are both French but Mahut has a wonderful amount of gel in his hair, something Mathieu doesn't have and their games are different as well.


Mathieu and Isner

If you were getting odds on Mathieu winning 2 5 setters in a row before the tournament they'd have been generous. The Isner match was full of drama, big John serving huge and saving 17/22 break points with big serving, Mathieu didn't get too down on himself when he wasn't converting the chances which was key and only on one of the match points did he have a chance. His comments after this match were apt "coming back was worth it for moments like this" and one of the better moments of the tournaments. The Mathieu show ended losing to Marcel Granollers in 5 sets towards the end Paulo just ran out of petrol.

Marcel Granollers Pump Up the Volume

Grunting and how to fix this, has been an issue on the WTA more so than on the ATP. Señor Granollers has helped raised the issue whether he wanted to or not. It has overshadowed his performances, yes he has an unorthodox and definitely not a stylish game but it's effective. The shovel backhand, funky forehand, he at least does come to the net and has an idea what to do up there.




His 1st round match at Joao Sousa of Portugal had plenty of niggle from Sousa and the Portuguese fans.

Sousa was angry about Granollers taking injury timeout then running like a rabbit and time wasting using his leg as an excuse then it got better.

Granollers said Sousa disrespected him. Sousa replied " shut up". Granollers won the match & said "take that you piece of crap". Sousa then responds by calling Granollers "a son of a bitch".

The Portuguese fans get on Granollers case at the end of the match after Marcel gave them the "shh" gesture.

His timewasting and grunting didn't help. He saved match points against Jaziri and there were a few heated discussions in that match as well.

After he defeated Mathieu it was really highlighted as it was a tactical grunt that was held for so long until Mathieu hit the ball. At times there was no grunting, then later there was a sound that sounded like trying to fight against severe constipation or giving birth through the rear. French crowd weren't amused they will appreciate good play, but don't tolerate nonsense. Ferrer chopped Marcel in the end, but the best one was grunting on a slice backhand.

Breakthroughs

Andreas Seppi continued his fine run of form from winning Belgrade, saving 6 match points against Wawrinka in Rome with his first ever 4th round showing at a Grand Slam. Had two tough 5 sets over Kukushkin and Verdasco in which he was outstanding hitting more winners than Verdasco which was surprising and also he has struggled against him in the past.

Yes, he lost a 2-0 sets lead to Novak Djokovic, but it never really felt like he was going to win it. Played a poor first game in the 3rd set and cumulative effect of the previous two matches didn't help at the end of the match, going for more as he was out of position due to a bit of tiredness and can't do that against Djokovic. Need everything to be working at its optimum level to have any sustained success against the top guys.


Andreas Seppi "King of South Tyrol"

The past two months have been excellent for Seppi who works hard, honest and fair player, you don't see fake timeouts with him, making the most out of his talents. The increased flexibility has helped him overall in his game and is knocking on the door of the top 20. As for whether he can make the top 20, well Troicki and Robredo managed it, doesn't mean Seppi will but it will be well deserved if he manages this feat.

David "The Goff" Goffin little did he know when he lost to Joao Sousa in the final round of qualies, That he got the Lucky Loser spot when Monfils withdrew with injury. Following in the footsteps of Big Dick Norman as a Belgian who made the 4th round of a Slam as a lucky loser he impressed many people who hadn't seen him play before.


Don't Hassle The Goff"

Possibly this could be the breakthrough event for The Goff, he took down Stepanek, Clement, Kubot and took his hero Roger Federer to 4 sets. It would be good if he got a wildcard for Wimbledon, but he needs to improve his strength and durability to build on this result. It’s funny how the Walloon players are small the Rochus brothers, Darcis, the Goff, not enough growth hormone in the chicken.


Youzhny is sorry for poor form


Among the other moments where the ridiculously poor play from Mikhail Youzhny against Ferrer where no matter what he did it turned to shit. We've all had days like this in life except for most people they aren't that public. With the shoe writing "Sorri" in the clay and the crowd appreciated it. Murray having back spasms and Nieminen forgot how to play tennis, if a guy has a back problem the dropshots and lob combination always test the back. Jarkko is just too nice and not ruthless enough.


Andy Roddick Clay Clown"

Overall the event has had the mix of the bizarre, high quality performances, funny antics, and some mind numbingly awful matches. In spite of this we know how this tournament will end, with the winner coming from the big 3, the positive side of the predictability is that once again Andy Roddick didn't make the 2nd week at Roland Garros. More things change, the more they stay the same.

Ivan Ljubičić "Ljuba Truba plays his last note"

2012 has been busy with retirements already we've lost Peter Luczak, Jose Acasuso, Fernando Gonzalez ( those two will be covered in a later article) and now Ivan Ljubičić has joined them. Ideally the best way to retire would be Pete Sampras style winning your last tournament or Felix Mantilla coming back from skin cancer and retiring like the warrior he was.

First of all I'm dedicating this Ljubičić retirement entry to a very good friend of mine Sammy. We met through this great sport many years ago. As a Croatian like most of his countrymen he is very proud of what Ivan Ljubičić achieved on the tennis court and off the court Ljubičić was winner as well.

Monte Carlo was perfect for Ljubičić to end his tennis career in front of friends and family, though it was disappointing once again like the Gonzalez's last tournament there was no TV coverage for it. With the final tournaments of these players the result is irrelevant, sure it would be brilliant for them to go down swinging in style but life isn't always fair.





Beginnings

Ljubičić 's journey from a Bosnian refugee to successful tennis player is inspirational and known those who follow the sport. As a 13 year old the war in Bosnia and Herzegovina broke out, Ljubičić fled Banja Luka with his mother and brother, the father stayed behind as only women and children were allowed out. After going to Belgrade, Slovenia eventually they made Rijeka, and six months later they were reunited with their father. On the experience Ljubičić said, "Those are moments in life when you have to find all the strength that is in you, to start completely from scratch. I know that it sounds simple, but the less you think about the past, the easier it is to face the future. "

Fortunately he was discovered by Ricardo Piatti whose tennis club took talented refugees and they were able to fund his development as a player, so the financial burden didn't end up on Ljubičić 's family in difficult times. Ljubičić adjusted to life in Italy learning the language and was able to make the final of junior Wimbledon.

Transition from junior potential to making the grade at senior level for every Federer, Murray and Roddick, there is Jeanpierre, Elsner, Tommy Ho. Ljubičić with the big serve clearly inspired by Goran Ivanisevic and a classical one hand backhand which he could go either way was progressing along steadily. From October 1999 Ljubičić made the top 100 and never dropped out of this position in the rankings.

First Breakthrough

In 1999 Ljubičić had his first major breakthrough qualifying for Monte Carlo defeating Arnaud Clement and Andrei Cherkasov in the qualies, before defeating Andrei Medvedev and Yevgeny Kafelnikov in the main draw before losing to Felix Mantilla. He won 2 Croatian Futures events and his first Challenger that year.

Goran Ivanisevic was a hero to all Croatian tennis players and when he won Wimbledon in 2001. Ljubičić "cried liked a baby" watching it in Gstaad and also carried a photo around of Goran. Clearly inspired by Goran's win he smashed his opponent 6-2 6-1. "I was flying. Anybody on the other side of the net that day wouldn't have had a chance against me." The poor guy who copped the thrashing this day was Roger Federer. Later in the year he won his first title in Lyon where he loved playing indoors.

Peak Years

From 2001 to 2004 Ljubičić was capable of beatng the better players but wasn't able to do it consistently which lead to a title drought during these year. Getting a medal at the Athens Olympics was the catalyst along with improving his fitness which in turn helped on his weaker forehand. Ljubo was never the fastest man, even with all the sprint, speed endurance and plyometric drills he was never going to be a Michael Johnson but it helped him greatly.


Croatian Davis Cup Champions

2005 was the year from one of the greatest and underrated feats in modern tennis. He went 11-1 in Davis Cup his only loss being to Dominik Hrbaty in the final. He defeated Roddick and Agassi in the singles and teamed up with Mario Ancic in the doubles to take out the Bryans in the USA. Ancic struggled in the singles but Ljubo was a great leader of the team and they combined as an effective unit. Croatia may win another Davis Cup, but what Ljubičić was able to achieve will never be forgotten.

His fitness improved, along with that came the confidence and the forehand which was the weaker side tended to break down when under pressure improved due to better footwork as he wasn't smothering the ball lead to his best two years on tour.

Grand Slam

For all his ability Ljubičić had a very poor Grand Slam record only one semi final at Roland Garros and a quarter final at the Australian Open when he lost to Baghdatis after leading in the 5th set. Ljubo wasn't great in the heat, then the grass wasn't his best surface with the return. Earlier in the career a lack of fitness didn't help but one needs a bit of luck in Grand Slams and have to take it as well.

Still remember one particular match from the Aus Open. Ljubo was leading Wayne Ferreira 6-4 6-4 5-1 40-15 and managed to lose 7-5 in the 5th set. It's just one of those matches still can't work out how Ljubo lost it or how Ferreira won it.




While that was a grand joke his match against Mardy Fish at Roland Garros was unforgettable. He won a tough 5 setter and then introduced dance moves that Michael Jackson and Baryshnikov at their peak wished they could have owned.



Yes, Ljubo had a poor GS record but he had his memorable moments.


Indian Wells



When Ljubičić was in his peak years he had two opportunities to win a TMS event the level under Grand Slams. In 2005 he made the finals in Madrid Indoor and Bercy when he lead 2 sets to 0 against Nadal in Madrid, then came back from 2 sets down to Berdych yet lost both in 5 sets. During his top years he kept running into the guy who he trashed in Gstaad Federer who managed to keep beating him in these events.

It looked like Ljubo's opportunity to win a TMS event had passed hence this is why the title in 2010 Indian Wells was so unexpected yet well received by fans and peers alike. It wasn't like he came into the event as a strong favourite, though he wasn't exactly gimpish either.

He took out Harrison and Dabul easily, then in the 3rd round he upset Novak Djokovic the number 2 in straight sets. The usual letdown after being a top player was avoided when he took out Monaco, then defeated Nadal in the semis playing some of his best tennis from the baseline, not just relying on the serve.

The final had Ljubo a player where this was his last chance to win a TMS playing Roddick who'd never won there. Big serving match where the opportunities were limited, thankfully Ljubo was able to win 2 tiebreakers and get that TMS title that he deserved during his career and it's apt that it was his last career title.


Indian Wells

Winding Down

Ljubičić was president of the ATP player council and on the board for years. Whether people agreed with his choices or not in the role, he could never be accused of putting his interests in front of the people he was representing. The politics within the ATP aren't an easy thing to navigate with the conflicting interests between tournament directors and players under the current structure. He still remains well respected by his peers in dealing with the cesspool.


Ivan Dodig and Ljubo

It was fitting that Ivan Dodig was the last man to beat Ljubičić in an official tournament, even though he wasn't overjoyed by winning this match. Dodig can always use Ljubo's career as an inspiration especially in the way that Ljubičić got the most out of his natural talent and this is all you can ask from a sportsman. With this retirement the generational shift is almost complete, another single hand backhand gone from the tour.



Aida Ljubičić

From a refugee in Banja Luka to living in Monte Carlo with a loving wife and two children, he has made the most of his career. Naturally he doesn't like talking too much about his childhood experiences, but they have helped mould the man. The tour will miss Ljubo with honest answers to all questions whether they're tennis related or about AC Milan.

Hopefully this has done justice to his career and my good mate will be happy with this entry.

ATP catering to the few and forgetting most

It’s been a while since there was a posting here, it changes today. The subject of this isn’t very sexy, glamorous and definitely doesn’t cater to casual fans but it needs to be said. With the recent news that Rafael Nadal threw his toys out of the pram and resigned as vice president of the ATP Players Council ties in with the subject matter.

For those who follow the game closely know that the lower ranked players have been struggling financially on the tour. The frank Russian Yevgeny Kafelnikov made comments about tennis players being underpaid and was slaughtered for the comments, especially from the sanctimonious Andre Agassi who told him to get him some perspective. Naturally within the tennis media for the interests of a good story it wasn’t taken out of context. What Kafelnikov actually said “tennis players are underpaid in comparison to golfers”. He wasn’t wrong then and he isn’t wrong now.

To the average person in the street or sports fan the perception that professional tennis players are highly paid, pampered primadonnas rings true to a certain extent. It only covers the top players who for the most part now get more money in personal sponsorships, commercials, appearance money than in prizemoney. Unfortunately this is not the case for the vast majority of players on the circuit while they work through the various stages of the tour battling it out on the Futures and Challenger jungles before attempting to make it on the ATP.

Income inequality

Income inequality has actually increased since the ATP started their tour in 1990. The USA Today article about Indian Wells where tournament owner Larry Ellison the man of Oracle fame in his infinite wisdom decided to increase the winner's purse from $611,000 to $1 million from the previous year an increase 64%. By contrast, first-round losers would pick up $7,709 instead of $7,115, a $594 bump equivalent to 8%. Naturally they took Ellison’s terms as the ATP has never really been about its members since the structure is meant to be a partnership between the players and tournament directors.


Larry Ellison

Indian Wells and Miami are compulsory events that go for almost a month combined, there is no need for it to be 10 days. It was marketing tools attempting with Miami to call it the “5th Slam”. Yes, I could hold a tournament in my front garden and call it a Grand Slam, it doesn’t mean it’s a Grand Slam. In fact it even has less meaning than a Justin Bieber track. The point since they are 96 player draws many of the guys who are on the edge of the Entry List would rather not play these events. For example lose 1st round in both events, pay for the flights, racquet restringing, paying the coaches or physical trainers they end up $5000 in debt, how does this situation benefit the sport?

This is not a new problem, in fact it was worse in previous generations with the distribution of prizemoney to the players. The ITF who run the Slams only gave 7% to the players. Tennis Australia, FFT (French Tennis Fed), LTA and US Open are making a lot of money but not distributing it fairly to the players who make the money for them. Fans aren’t there to see the sponsors, officials or tournament directors, this uneven distribution of the wealth was the catalyst behind a potential strike at the 2012 Australian Open.

When it comes to the ATP they give around 30% of the prizemoney to the players, but as with the ITF the biggest problem is the distribution of prizemoney in between the rounds. It’s too low for the early rounds and as Robby Ginepri stated "I have a little bit of a problem at tour events where winner gets almost double of what you make from finalist".

Challenger Tour

Where the biggest problem with the income inequality lies is the Challenger Tour. The prizemoney hasn’t increased since the 1980s when there is more money within the sport than ever before. The lowest level Challenger now is 30k up from 25k, with the increased overall costs the players relatively at the level from say 75-200 are making less money than the 1990s. The Challenger Tour is tough and it’s here where players have to fight, scrap, go to some tough environments to prepare them and develop their skills for the main tour. Yes, even big guys like Federer and Nadal played challengers before making their mark on tour, though to the mainstream tennis media, average gloryhunters and slapnuts issues like this tend not to be discussed, they’re more interested in some quotes taken out of context from some top player which have no relevance to the sport.

It’s in the interests of the ATP to have a stronger and more financially viable Challenger tour. Federer and co aren’t going to be around forever, can’t just market everything around them. The PGA looks after their lower level golfers in a manner that tennis could only dream of. A golfer in the top 150 isn’t struggling financially at all and this is a sport that is less international than tennis. As the game of tennis becomes more speed endurance based especially with slower courts due to ATP policy of surface homogenisation.

It has shown already that career breakthroughs are happening at more advanced ages as it takes time to develop speed endurance. This means more time will be spent on the Challengers before these players are ready for the main tour and difficulties of struggling when it’s not economically viable. No, this does not mean all players get stretch limousines from the airports to their hotel and courts or they get showered with everything without having earned it.


Michael Ruseell gives thoughts on ATP management

If it was only about economics then there wouldn’t be a Challenger tour at all, if the ATP want to have a successful second tier then they have to improve the prizemoney to a level that has parity with the increased costs. Michael Russell says, "You need other guys to make up a whole tour just like in golf and other sports. It would be nice if it were spread around a little more. We need the top guys to stand up and help everyone else out a little bit more." ATP tournaments are obliged by ATP regulations to guarantee the players five days of free lodging and one meal per day, this doesn’t happen on the Challengers and should be extended to this level.

Guillermo Cañas summed it up perfectly. "Is the ATP discriminatory?" It’s 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.


Willy Cañas

Difficulties of making it on tour

Unless players come from a powerful tennis federation USA, France, UK, or with Spain and Italy where there numerous Futures and Challengers where to earn your points, then it’s very difficult to making a living on tour when expenses are included with low prizemoney at these levels. Many of the hyped youngsters like Harrison, Tomic and friends have the benefits of powerful management groups like IMG, Octagon or Lagardére Unlimited behind them who have too much influence within the game as they will give their players favourable treatment with wildcards.


Goran Ivanisevic

Goran Ivanisevic when he was an emerging player said “I had to sleep in the streets somewhere in France and wash myself in public restrooms because a sponsor failed to pay for my accommodation, he barely spoke the language, did not know anyone, and his parents did not have the money to support him (it was war at that time); eating 3 burgers once a day in McDonalds for an entire week.”


Ivan Dodig

Ivan Dodig: Didn't have any money due to the war at the time. He slept under a bridge and it was very difficult for him. “If I won some matches, I would have a chance to play more tournaments. Sometimes it was good, sometimes [it was] not so good. I was taking care of every Euro. I had many tough situations in tournaments having to play without money and many times without anywhere to sleep."

Even in Spain where there are many tournaments it’s not immune for their players to struggle financially. Albert Montañes before he cracked the top 50 wasn’t doing very well and his mate “The King” Oscar Hernandez. “For players like me, in the Top 500, you don’t have money. I didn’t want to say to my parents, ‘Please pay my hotels and the tickets and everything to play tennis,’ because I was feeling like I was losing my money and I would have been losing the money of my parents. I said, ‘Okay, that’s not my life. I cannot be a good player.’”


Oscar Hernandez

Then there are the problems with distance that the South Americans and the Australians suffer from since all the major tournaments are in Europe and North America, so they need a base in either continent. Unlike the Australians who now have a rich federation to help them financially, the South Americans apart from the Colombians who are very fortunate that they have a company Colsanitas who look after their expenses, have a sponsorship with Babolat. It helps them for sure especially in the initial phases when it's needed the most.

Gaston Gaudio had to take a loan from Hernan Gumy when he went on tour after his parents business fell on hard times, so he turned professional as a way to help them. Once he was able to make the 100 for a couple of years, then he could earn a living. Agustin Calleri couldn’t afford the travel and had to work in his parents shop to get the funds so he can travel.


Peter Luczak

Peter Luczak on when he started playing. “24 hour Greyhound bus rides, as I was not a rich kid at all. There were a group of 7 of us in a basement of a house, 2 beds, 1 couch, and the rest slept on the floor. Before the tournament we would play games of cards or chess to decide who would get a bed, once you lost your singles match, and then you were on the floor. I got the nickname of “Lucky Looch” and “Diablo” because I was always winning these games and getting the bed.

One of the guys travelled with a stringer, so he was able to do all of our racquets. When it came to food, there were the 29c McDonalds burgers, I would have 5 of them in one sitting, eating 2 minute noodles and the free player lunch.


Dustin Brown

Dustin Brown: "To be able to continue my career, my parents bought me a camper in April 2004 in order to travel through Europe and play as many games as possible."

"I would eat and sleep in my camper and I was travelling all over Europe, up and down for seven years to make it in professional tennis, holding the Jamaican flag high week by week, while my parents struggled to pay for the camper.

"I made a name for myself in Europe with my camper, my only chance to make it in tennis.”


Mariano Zabaleta, Gaston Gaudio and Luis Horna

Mariano Zabaleta on whether tennis is an elitist sport. “I don't believe it is. However there are certain problems, to play tennis there is a large expense for racquets, strings, shoes, t-shirts, you have to be a member of a club, paying for the court and not forgetting the travel. Therefore I believe that there were many very talented players that did not come through. They didn't have the support in their moment of need and they fell through and begged the AAT to give them some financial possibilities.” All of the above examples highlight the problems of making it on the tennis tour without having the right help or management company.

The above guys were fortunate that they were able to make it, but there are plenty of others who haven't due to not being from the right country, couldn't get a sponsor so they could travel to events like Chilean Jorge Aguilar and Diego Hartfield when the Argentine economy collapsed he only made $500 for the season.

Nadal resigns from of ATP Players Council

Another possible barrier hindering the lower ranked players has been removed with Rafael Nadal resigning from the role of vice president of the ATP Players Council. Allegedly the main reasons that he has thrown the toys out of the pram are that Roger Federer the president of the ATP Players Council refused to back the ludicrous idea of a 2 year ranking system.

To any sane fan who isn’t a slapnuts or a gloryhunter the 2 year ranking system idea is in poor taste, all it would do is making it even harder to breakthrough to the top echelons and the same players will be there even if they haven’t been performing. As the graph shows were the 2 year ranking implemented at the start of 2012 then Nadal would still be number one in spite of Novak Djokovic winning 3 Grand Slams, a semi final at Roland Garros, winning 5 TMS events in 2011, yes that’s really fair.


Two Year Ranking System at Jan 1 2012

There was an argument that allegedly helps injured players, but that’s a myth as well. The current situation with the protected ranking for long term injuries works well enough currently.

Nadal facing defeat on the 2 year ranking system

While Nadal has a legitimate claim about the season length, the off season is too short to recover from the grind of the previous season and to do a proper fitness base leading into the next season. The counterargument is that the lower ranked players want more tournaments so they have the opportunity to earn income. It’s a difficult situation though if the prizemoney was increased at the lower levels like it should be, then this might not be such a problem. It’s not just the top players that play too many events during the year, but since they are top players more notice is taken of their concerns.

What Nadal has shown that he wasn't suitable for this role at all. When elected to a position like this, there are different agendas where negotiation is needed and your personal interests are put to the side for the game. Instead he chose to promote his interests where he benefits to the detriment of the sport.

It’s always easier to highlight problems than to find solutions, at the same time the Players Council with Roger Federer who already has decided while he is around the odious 2 year ranking system is dead to push for better distribution of income to the lower ranked players. Of course the top players earn their money nobody can deny that, they bring in the sponsors, TV rights, ticket sales and make the Grand Slams profitable but the reality is that the ATP and ITF have shown they care nowt about the majority of players and it’ll take something drastic which hurts their profits for any tangible change to happen in the new future.

Shout out to Machi for helping me with some info that contributed to the article thanks man.

Pablo Cuevas : The Next Fillipini or Diego Perez

It’s been a while since one of these articles has been done on the blog. The subject of this entry is Pablo Cuevas from the land of beef, football and depending on who you believe Carlos Gardel.


Pablo Cuevas

Uruguay has been looking for a successor to Marcelo Fillippini on the ATP tour who definitely made the most of his talent winning 5 titles. Then as a 31 year old he made the quarter finals of 1999 Roland Garros as qualifier without dropping a set before losing to Agassi. His Davis Cup team mate Diego Perez who shares the record of most Davis Cup wins for Uruguay with Fillippini and also won an ATP title.

Cuevas played his first Futures event in 2002 and turned pro in 2004. He lost to players like Monaco, Junqueira, Zeballos. In 2005 he made his Davis Cup debut vs. Cuba and won his first of two Futures titles beating Machi Gonzalez in the process. It wasn’t until 2007 that Cuevas made his Grand Slam debut losing to Andy Murray after qualifying at the US Open, he lost in the last round of qualies to Dusan Vemic at Roland Garros.

After consolidating his 2007 season with strong Challenger results 2008 was the year that got Cuevas noticed to a wider audience outside of Latin America for varying degrees. His singles breakthrough was at Viña del Mar where he had 2 match points against hometown hero Fernando Gonzalez but ended up losing 6-7 7-6 6-2, though in the 2nd set tiebreaker he hit one of the most famous winners, the clip says enough. The crowd and Gonzalez were really intimidating Cuevas, had Cuevas won the semi final, it would have been his first ATP title as Juan Monaco injured his ankle in a doubles match when he collided with the linesman’s chair and withdrew from the final.


Famous shot vs. Gonzalez at Viña del Mar

Instead of building on that fine performance Cuevas managed to lose a 15 year old Ryan Harrison at the Houston Grand Slam in straight sets, yes this was a poor performance and showed a mental frailty that has been with Cuevas throughout his career. It’s not like Cuevas was playing a prodigy like Wilander, Borg, Krickstein, Arias or Chang on a surface that he was unfamiliar with.

However this low point was pushed into the background with his greatest triumph winning the 2008 Roland Garros doubles title with Luis Horna. These were two talented singles players entering for some cash and having fun, yet they won the title which was refreshing and surprising. The great ride started when they played the French duo of Clement and Llodra in the first round, an excellent combo and competent at singles as well, so they definitely aren’t doubles specialists. They were handled with ease, then took out Nieminen and Lindstedt in the next round and after this they took out Dlouhy/Paes in the 3rd round. They made the quarter finals taking out 2 seeded combinations.


In the quarter finals the shenanigans with the Bryans began. The Bryans were huge favourites, but luckily the conditions were very heavy with the constant rain, making the court heavier which was better for the South Americans. The 3rd set tiebreaker was hilarious when Ceuvas jumped the net and it was clearly nowhere near the Bryans, but after the match when Lucho and Cuevas won, the Bryan bitches refused to shake Ceuvas’s hand. “He was really disrespectful,” Mike said. “He jumped the net right in our face. It’s classless.” But Cuevas’s response was class. “Maybe I celebrated a little too much. But it’s worth it,” he said. “It’s not every day you beat the No. 1 team.”



Horna/Cuevas vs. Bryans with the net jump

The semi final against another unseeded team Soares/Vemic was their most difficult match, as they got closer to the final, they blew match points, but managed to make it through to the final. Lucky the conditions were quite heavy and it suited Lucho and Cuevas for sure. They came out on fire slapping returns that the doubles specialists weren’t used to handling at all. Lucho ripping on the forehand side and Ceuvas with the single hander, these devastating shots were too much for Nestor/Ziki who looked all at sea out there under the onslaught. The first set was over quickly and the second was slightly more competitive, but the same pattern continued the South Americans won 6-2 6-3. One could see they couldn’t believe that they won and Cuevas said afterwards “we weren’t expecting to get that far”.


Horna and Cuevas RG Doubles

After the Roland Garros doubles triumph, in 2009 Cuevas finished the singles year at 141, had to play Challengers winning Montevideo. Qualifying for Viña del Mar where he made the semis, the event he peaks for, also qualifying for Hamburg. He managed to finish the year inside the top 50.


Cuevas having fun with Roddick

2010 was a consolidation season winning the Sczecin Challenger then in 2011 Cuevas had arguably his biggest win in Miami where he took out Andy Roddick in straight sets showing plenty of variety. Best of all about this win was the Miami crowd cheering for Cuevas though Miami is a Latino city. Sadly for Cuevas at Roland Garros is where the injury problems began he had to retire in the first round against Antonio Veic with knee problems and hasn’t played since.


Pablo Cuevas down and not out

Long term injury layoffs impact on players in different ways, some never come back to their previous level whereas others have improved with the time away from the game. As for Cuevas this will be a good thing as he has not rushed his comeback to tennis. He probably could have played doubles in the Davis Cup last week but chose not to risk it. Since the game has become more physical players are reaching their peak levels at a later age, which is only logical since tennis is a speed endurance sport.


Lucho Horna came out and said “if he recovers from injury, then Cuevas has the potential to be a top 20 player”. The statement isn’t outrageous as the potential is there. The main questions are has the break away from the game helped Cuevas focus mentally on what he wants out of the sport. This is what was holding him back previously and something like this can be used as a positive to focus on the goals at hand.

Cuevas has an outstanding kick serve especially for a smaller guy, gets very good angles with it to open up the court and the single hand backhand especially down the line is a class shot. The forehand is pretty good, but definitely could improve taking it on the rise. His transition game is solid, just needs to be selective when he comes into the net.

Alberto “Luli” Mancini has taken over the coaching from Daniel Orsanic after the contract ran out. Cuevas has moved to Argentina to train, it’s not like Argentina is unfamiliar his mother is Argentine. There are better practice facilities and hitting partners, though it’s arguable whether the beef is better there.


Coach Mancini


Mancini when he won Monte Carlo

Mancini was top 10 in singles, brilliant backhand, one of the guys that did better against the top players, these things he could definitely bring to help Cuevas. Guillermo Coria another small player, slight of stature albeit with a different game had his best years under Mancini. It’s a shrewd appointment in theory, lets see how it pans out.

As to whether Cuevas will be a Fillppini or Diego Perez depends on a few factors. Besides the 5 titles, Fillippini managed to reach 30th in the world, so this is the challenge for Cuevas. Providing he improves mentally which has been the big weakness, at the elite level it isn’t so much the technique, it’s more mentally and there needs to be more work done on that side of things. Cuevas is coming into a good age for his career, improve the mental side then the confidence will come and improved results in the bigger clay events would be needed to reach the level of Fillippini.

In the long term the top 20 is a challenge but in the short term it’s important for Cuevas to get some match fitness playing Challengers, competing hard then maybe using his Protected Ranking for the bigger events. As long as he works hard on his game and mentally, then he can make a successful comeback to tour.