Wiggling Bepa and the “Man to Beat”

 

I didn’t follow any of Dubai this year only finding time to tune into the final.

 

As such, I don’t have too many opinions. But I do think it bears mentioning that although this is now 3 consecutive titles for Nole in DooBye, this is the first and only of those three in which he’s either displayed the form or met with the opposition consistent with that success.

 

What’s perhaps more surprising is that it was Fed who’d been the better player all week – Nole termed his win over Berd “his worst performance of the year” – yet it was Nole who was able (in the first set at least) to bring the type of tennis that’s won him Slams (plural).

 

Does this form, this incredible streak he’s on, make him the best player in the world right now?

 

Probably. I really don’t see the controversy in stating that.

The fact that he’s the ‘man to beat’ right now must surely be incontrovertible and isn’t (despite troublemakers’ best efforts to stir things up) a slight on anyone. On the other hand, it also says next to nothing about his chances at any of the upcoming Slams or, for that matter, at IW/Miami. Nothing, that is, other than that he must be held up as one of the four or five players with the best shot at winning it.

Quite possibly the best wiggling-Bepa pic ever.

Yes the wind was a factor (though I think it’s very telling how Caro-supporters gloss over how Bepa was successfully contending with exactly the same conditions) and I’d be lying if I said Caro was at her best (main difference centres on whether she was done physically after two contiguous weeks or simply due a dud) – yet I still think all of that pales in comparison to how very far Bepa has come.

Can you honestly see her playing some of the matches she played this week even twelve months ago (let alone prior to that)?

If you want my honest opinion it was Hantuchova that delivered the performance of the week – I’m still not completely certain why she lost that match.

But doesn’t that also precisely and exactly capture why it’s Bepa and not Dani holding up the trophy at the end of the week?

Some of Bepa’s surprisingly low-key, economic play (often under the type of pressure would have resulted in her inexorable collapse not 16 months ago) was so un-Bepa like, I almost mistook it for someone else.

Just as un-Bepa-like, is the fact that she was able to continue in that vein for the entire week.

 

Who are you and how did I get here?

 

Yes Delpo won his first title since his comeback and yes that is a flux capacitor from late 2009.

Also, incidentally, his third consecutive semi final and a rise of 77 places to #89 in the rankings.

Spare a thought, if you can tear yourself away from the Delpo welcome-home party, for Tipsy, who is now 0-3 in ATP finals and the only “titleless” member of the top 100 Serbian stable.

DooBye: A Plea for Perspective

 

Every year sees a variant of the same ol’ same ol' ritual: Shahar arrives under heavily armed guard and remain sequestered at a remote part of the venue from which she only emerges to attend her matches – low key affairs typically hosted on an outside court with one entrance and exit. 




Once she loses, media outlets roundly declare the situation as “deplorable”, (rightly) lament Shahar’s plight, soundly condemn the authorities for inheriting a problem not of their making, and  comfortably pretend that nothing that occurred in the region in the last 60 or so years could possibly have given rise to this state of affairs.

 

I’ve long since given up on the issue ever being tackled honestly.

What makes some of the dialogue particularly grate this time round has been the callous ease with which some call for the tournament to be “canned”.

 

Let’s be clear.

 

I have the greatest of respect for Shahar as a player – her work ethic and determination to fight (losing battles) to the very end and in the very best of spirits embodies, to a large extent, the finest aspects of the sport I love. It was on display when she first broke into the top 20 back in 2006 (often only with a fraction of the talent of some of the other up and comers) and has remained with her ever since.

Like many others, I disagreed with Dubai’s refusal to issue her a visa back in 2009. It was frankly an embarrassment for the sport. Even so, the commentary of the time was notable for the absence of any recognition at all of why such a debacle came to be. And of course there were those that sought refuge (as they always do) in the very tired, very blasé “tennis and politics don’t mix” line. I think you’ll find they’re inextricable dearie.

That said, and in common with many other voices (not merely Arab, but European, American and many of them from inside Israel itself), I strongly disagree with many of her country’s policies.

That’s neither here nor there. It’s not what this post is about and I certainly don’t intend to trivialise what’s likely the most divisive issue of our age by presuming to suggest that mentioning it (in passing) on a tennis blog comes anywhere near to giving it the treatment it so duly deserves – for which, by the way, well-written, well-researched, dedicated blogs already exist.



But I do feel it’s time we stopped pretending that there isn’t another (far more complex) side to this story and that the fallout from events in that region (going back over half a century) either shouldn’t exist, or shouldn’t, at any rate, intrude upon our enjoyment of a tennis tournament.

How very inconsiderate of them. How very inconvenient and tiresome for us.

Is it fair to Shahar? Absolutely not. Is it right that she should remain sequestered away under armed guard whilst being made very aware of other players prancing around in photo shoots you, frankly, wouldn’t want to be seen dead in were you able to move freely? No, of course it isn’t.

And in a perfect world it wouldn’t happen.

The trouble is, we don’t live in Disneyland: far more distressing and tragic compromises have been made in a conflict going back several decades (and counting). Like it or not, legitimate grievances do exist the consequences of which continue to reverberate globally.

Shahar will, at least, be handsomely rewarded for her progress at the event. Try comparing that with someone growing up in the Occupied Territories who can never even conceive of becoming a tennis player, not because they have no tennis infrastructure, but because in some cases they have no infrastructure at all. Or any economy to speak of.

The outrage over her treatment would be more convincing if it was coupled with even a cursory nod at the events and circumstances that have led to such a hostile reception in a country which, after all, has no diplomatic relations with Israel.

Venus and ARod’s “principled” stand would be even more principled if it contained even a hint of recognition that the seeds of the “discrimination and exclusion”, Venus in particular spoke out against, are at the very heart of what’s driving the conflict (many, including ex-President Jimmy Carter have described some of  Israel’s policies towards the Palestinians as a form of ‘apartheid’).

People would probably have screamed it’s not their place to comment and it certainly wouldn’t have changed anything – it would, however, have represented a more nuanced, equitable stance.



So let’s “can” the event then? Clearly that’s the only way forward. Better still, let’s never hold another event in the middle east again (no that doesn’t sound myopic at all).

 

Funny. I thought tennis fans existed worldwide and that the sport as well as the right to enjoy it belonged to everyone – not just those that happen to share aspects of your foreign policy.

I realise not everybody calling for its removal is being this blinkered – trouble is, when you broach an issue as emotive as this with such casual derision, it smacks of precisely that.

A funny and rather beautiful thing happened in Doha a couple of days ago. JJ was drawn to play an Omani WC, Fatma Al-Nabhani. A virtual unknown, Al-Nabhani moved up from the top 1000 to the top 400 last year – her finest moment to date being the doubles QFs of junior Wimby.

JJ won in straights as expected. Though the 19 year old, clearly outclassed and obviously inexperienced (and having lost the first set 6-1) rebounded admirably in the second, showcasing her big serve and the kind of forehand winners off the back foot that JJ can only dream of. All at a moment when it would have been only too easy to fade away.

She still lost it 6-3, but held herself throughout with the kind of calm dignity and composure that still remains beyond many top 20 players. Unsurprisingly, the commentators loved her.

 

We might never see her again (not everybody is destined to “make it” – see Ancic, Mario), but without hosting events in that region, she might never have got that sort of exposure.

In other words, it was good for her, it was good for Oman and it was, I hardly need add, good for all of us to come into contact with a player from a culture we might not be accustomed with and one not, frankly, known for its tennis tradition.

We’re sometimes more cynical than we should be as regards the role of sport as a “unifying force” – it always tends to evoke a wince from me, and its significance is, at any rate, overstated all too often.

But moments like this tend to garner universal approval. As they should.

Aren’t these exactly the kind of values the WTA should be upholding? Isn’t a very large part of its remit to foster the spread of tennis this way? Particularly in countries with little or no tennis heritage.

 

One can only assume (and hope) that those calling for it to be “canned” don’t realise how insular they sound.

Of course $$$’s are involved. When has this ever not been the case?

The situation is what it is: you either rule out ever staging a tournament anywhere in the middle east or you’re forced to make certain compromises – God knows it wouldn’t be the first or the greatest.

It’s one thing to sensibly, objectively and justly debate whether Shahar’s treatment is a compromise too far (don’t hold your breath waiting for that to happen) and entirely another to indulge idle, callous rants that call (effectively) for around 300 million people to never see a tennis event staged in their home nation. If the latter sounds insular, it’s because it is.

Dubai: The Middle Ground

 

Criticism both for and against Woz has gone from being an idle weekend pursuit to a large part of how you define yourself ideologically

On the far-right you have those Neanderthals for whom any and all of Caro’s victories are evidence of her opponents’ dysfunction and presumably of what poor shape the WTA is in.  The other extreme consists of those sandal-wearing pacifists that have made an art form of forging touchy, defensive tracts even when the circumstances point overwhelmingly (as they did this weekend with Sveta) towards a poor performance on the part of her opponent.

 

The “middle ground” (if it exists at all)  is occupied by other varying shades of apologists and belligerents.

 

I no longer want any part of it.

 

Q. Do you think it’s unfair when people criticize you or when people talk your game and they say, She gets lots of balls back, but she hasn’t got a big weapon? You’ve got to No. 1 in the world. Do you think that’s unfair when you hear people say that?

CAROLINE WOZNIACKI: Um, well, if I don’t have a weapon, then what do the others have? Since I’m No. 1, I must do something right. I think there’re not actually criticizing me. I think the other players should be offended.

She’ll never be your cup of tea if, like me, you enjoy brash, bold, big-hitting tennis. That doesn’t, shouldn’t, mean

 

a) that she hasn’t earnt many (if not all) her wins,

 

b) that we don’t call out, in the strongest possible terms, her (supposedly more experienced, high ranking) opponents for capitulating as badly as they seem to against her, or, for that matter, why she appears to cause them so much trouble – is she clearly not doing something right?

c)  or (worse) that she’s somehow foregone her right to being credited for the type of mental resilience necessary to play the style of tennis that seems to offend people so much. (Hint: it’s the same focus we so enjoy celebrating in Pova and Rafa amongst others – but somehow not hitting the same amount of winners as them means you forgo that right?)

It also doesn’t mean (and this cannot be stated enough) that her style of play has no business at the top of the WTA food chain.

The problem (as I see it) comes when well (or seriously unwell)-meaning peeps try and present being “rocksolid” as an incontrovertible virtue and rationalise EVERYTHING (from tennis results to the origins of the universe) by invoking that great tennis tautology: “a win’s a win”.

 

Yes, a win is indeed a win – but some wins are clearly better (or worse) than others. And being "rocksolid” is infinitely easier to appreciate when it’s not fashioned upon the bedrock of your opponents stupidity. I’m not even going to attempt to understand what lay behind Sveta’s flatulence – let’s just say “it happens”.

 

The most infuriating strain of this thought goes as far as crediting her with talents she clearly doesn’t possess like “nuance”  – I’ve even heard her being compared to Rafa.

 

And that, I’m afraid, is when knives are drawn and plates are broken.

Weekend Round Up.

Dubai: Djokovic d. Youzhny 7-5, 5-7, 6-3

That trophy’s a ship, but viewed side on it’s very Burj-ul Arab no?

Yes that distant wail that could be heard over the horizon for the best part of today was the sound of the moaners and haters crooning in unison. Myself at their helm.

"It's a very mental game," said the Serb. "People don't realize how much tension you have to go through throughout the match. It took a lot of energy for me. Stopping and playing, and coming back and then again stopping the match last night because of the rain."

…

"Today was another good example of how much I believe in myself and how much I fight till the end," added Djokovic, who gained swift revenge for Youzhny's straight sets victory in the semi-finals of the Rotterdam Open earlier this month.

(Fox News)

I’ve said all I want to say about Djoko coming out on top against a field of also rans on Twitter – the fact remains he still had to go out there and win it.

The fact also remains however, that I’d like to see him kick butt at the Masters 1000’s and Slams -- something I don’t deem him unqualified for -- and a front on which, outside of clay, I remain fundamentally dissatisfied.

Acapulco: Williams d. Hercog 2-6 6-2 6-3

Mexico seems to agree with V. Only at Wimbledon itself is she more radiant.

After that unceremonious outage in Oz, she’s gone from strength to strength, winning her second successive title in two weeks

As Mr Wertheim pointed out in the TwitterSphere earlier, Dubai, Acapulco and the Billie Jean Cup in Madison Square Garden on March 1st makes a total of three events in 8 days.

Meditate on that thought for a while the next time you want to accuse her of only caring about the Slams.

Acapulco: Ferrer d. Ferrero 6-3 3-6 6-1

After beating his compadre in Buenos Aires last week, Ferrero fails to make it three in a row.

No matter. I treat Ferrero's return and the news of Ferrer winning titles in South America, as a sign that our stock of functioning clay courters not named Nadal is in nothing less than full working order.

I’m sizing the next few months up as Armageddon on clay.

Kuala Lumpur: Kleybanova d. Dementieva 6-3, 6-2

I’m almost relieved to see Dementieva lose at a tier two/three event.

Maybe it’ll prompt her to attend to that less ennobling Grand Slam record of hers.

Probably not.

Kleybanova gets all sorts of wierd grief about her size – but she’s too good a player not to have won a title.

Dubai: Final Line Up and my ‘Notes on a Scandal’

There’ll be no further reposting of what I’ll only gingerly be referring to as “the video”.

We’ve all seen the video – correction, we’ve all experienced, the video.

You don’t need me to do another “me too” post about it.

Though the following must be gotten off my chest.

A collection of my choicest reactions over the last 15 hours.

• “Oh Rafa – What will your mother say!?”
• “What will Xisca say!?”
• “You did ask her?”
• “$$$***$$#####”
• “Your ingénue appeal is forever lost.”
• “No wonder your knee hurts!”

All I need now is for Murray to do a cover of “You can call me Al” (in the role played by Paul Simon of course), and my life will be complete.

***

Speaking of my life being complete – as of yet it’s only half way there.

Headbanger came through in straights against Melzer who’s yet to form any meaningful impression on me.

Djoko’s just put out Baggy – to which I say pesh-tosh.

It also means I’ll be firmly ensconced in Camp Headbang tomorrow.

You might think it strange for me to be rooting against Djoko, but rest assured I have his best interests at heart.

A win for him here will benefit precisely no one.

Not him, and certainly not tennis.

The way I figure it, he might get a little too complacent, maybe a little too content with winning the odd 500 event now and again, when he should be pitching his tent at the Masters and Slams. At least that’s what I thought the agenda was.

Twitterati Illuminati and Free Museum Tickets.

First off, observe if you will the newly created twitter feed to the left.

(Credit: wefunction.com)

I’m a Twit. And not quite proud of it.

One day maybe, but right now the only thing I take pride in is how long I held out.

140 character limited dystopia claims another victim.

As you’ve probably noticed it makes the site load slower than Simon Reed’s hate infested inbox, so I’m open to suggestions on any juicy Twitter widgets you may know of (already tried Twitter's own) that can be configured to gel with the look and feel of your site. Until then you'll have to make do with this unsalubrious mess, and it's unTwitter-like date stamps.

Ana Ivanovic has hired Heinz Gunthardt as her new coach.

The Ivanovic management made the announcement, which brings to an end the number 23 player's coaching relationship with the adidas team, still her clothing sponsor.

I know we’ve jumped through this hoop before.

But can we still all breath a great sigh of relief, and take collective solace in this first step in the right direction?

Things really couldn’t get any worse for her, so let’s hope she sees this one through before checking in to Team Adidas once again.

We all know Heinz worked with Steffi Graf. Quite a few of us also know he aided and abetted Brad Gilbert into making Andre and Steffi’s first on court “practice session” a reality.

Just saying. This guys got salubrious history in many spheres.

Muzzard goes down 7-6 (3), 4-6, 6-4 to Tipsarevic.

Undoubtedly a big win for Tipsy, though Muzz was never overly optimistic about his chances at this event, drawing attention instead to the lengthy time he’s spent away in the aftermath of Oz.

"It is always disappointing to lose, but I did not have much expectation from the tournament," Murray said.

"I am coming from a big break after the Australian Open and was not as prepared as I should have been for the tournament. I was still trying out things on the court, rather than playing my normal game."

That may well be true. Some of it, or all of it.

I also think however, that Tipsy is a dangerously underrated player.

Three years back, I thought he was headed for the top ten. Then Nietzsche and a shed load of brain cramps intervened (in any order or all at once).

"One of the biggest wins, surely," he said. "For me, Murray is a contestant to be No. 1 at the end of the season. He played unbelievable tennis at the Australian Open. He was one of the favorites to win the tournament here, for sure."

It’s not nearly as frequent now, but every so often he delivers a performance that makes me hope. Yes, I’m aware it might offend some people’s sensibilities, but I wouldn’t mind seeing Tipsy in the top ten.

If for no other reason than that he’s a dead ringer for a buddy of ours that used to work in the Natural History Museum.

Every time I see Tipsy – I think free museum tickets.

So now you know.

It ain’t November yet people…

With Fed, Delpo and Nadal already sidelined, and further withdrawals from Davy (wrist) and Llodra (thigh strain), you might be forgiven for thinking it’s already nearing the end of the season.

Tsonga was only spared my virginal wrath on the TwitterSphere, when I was reminded he continues to struggle with a stomach injury he sustained in Oz. Not that I find it difficult to celebrate any time Ljubicic wins big,

It’s further opened up a draw already containing several prominent gaping holes.

I was at first thinking how this would offer up yet another opportunity for Djoko to clean up, except I saw Djoko play today (he won in three against Troicki), and I’m not that convinced he’s about to clean up anything.

There’s also the ‘Red Hot Cilic Pepper’ effect to consider of course. He’s not in Djoko’s half of the draw so the two could meet in the final.

All of that assumes order and harmony.

Except my recent uptake of Twitter has tapped in to a latent primeval desire for chaos and disarray.

Which is why I’ll be rooting for Baggy and Youzhny. Both have been away for far too long, and it’s not for want of effort.

Though there’s also Tipsy and the lure of free museum tickets.

Dubai: Ladies Round Up.

Williams d. Azarenka 6-3 7-5

After witnessing probably the worst match contested by a couple of top seeds (Venus v Li Na in the QFs of Oz if you’re still wondering) in the second week of a Slam, I’d more or less consigned Venus to the ‘If you haven’t anything good to say…’ basket.

I’m not sure we’ll ever crack the nut of why performances like this continue to be a feature of Wimbledon and no where else – what I do know is that it’s wholly appropriate for a die hard fan like myself to continue to ask why.

It’s no secret I actually prefer her game over her sister’s – she may not reach top gear that often these days, but heaven help her opponents when she does: performances I believe might actually surpass Serena.

One has to feel something for Vika even it isn’t sorrow, and even if like me, you find it difficult to cosy up to her. Not that I’d ever even dare attempt it.

Her performances have mostly been consistent and she’s truly earnt her top ten position.

Every time in the last 12 months she’s come within clinching distance of what by any other reckoning would qualify as a breakthrough performance (not that different to what Caz-Woz achieved in Flushing), she’s run into Serena playing one of the very many “matches of her life”.

What was scary last week however (most things with Vika usually are), was how frequently she came to the net and how dedicated to the process she appears to be.

Stubborn sorts like Vika take a most unique form of affrontery at being told they can’t do, or aren’t suited to something.

A closer inspection of the facts reveal that coming to the net more is indeed part of the agenda for 2010. She even revealed how hitting with no less an artisan than Stefan Edberg recently in Hong Kong had helped her grow in that sphere.

Whatever. I don’t suddenly expect her to morph into Amelie Mauresmo. At the moment she’s anything but – with nine out of every ten net approaches ending in a drive volley.

Don’t cringe. The drive volley’s here to stay, whatever you might think about it.

It’s also as much a part of tennis as anything seen during Chris Evert’s day.

I don’t think I’ve seen anything quite so elegant as Venus Williams taking on the stroke in full flight.

***

Fed’s absence in Dubai has once again turned it into a two, three or four horse race depending on how far your loyalties extend.

Djoko and Muzzard through comfortably today. Davy and Tsonga with some convincing to do.

Tsonga might have wished for a better opener. Llodra’s fresh from his win in Marseille and Benneteau (the runner up there) was the guy that took Jo out.

I might be wrong but I’d guess he's not that into French Connections right now.

Dubai: Poetry and Time Travel.

Another day, a fresh new round of WTA upsets.

Except nowadays I’m not so sure of what qualifies as an upset.

Peer d. Li Na 7-5 3-0 (Ret.)

Wickmayer, Razzano, Wozniacki and Li Na. That’s some kinda run.

(MARWAN NAAMANI/AFP/Getty Images)

I just find the whole of ShaharGate tiresome - only a little less so than those overly simplistic and mostly inane analyses that continue to pretend we live in a world without root causes.

Poetic justice is the way I heard her run here described.

Really?

I suppose they still think sport and politics don’t mix.

Try telling Arthur Ashe that.

What I don’t find tiring and infinitely more poetic, is how players like Peer and Safarova appear to have rediscovered their form of late 2007. Back then they were heading up the second tier.

Could they have somehow profited from Fed’s glory in Oz?

Seems he’s not the only one intent on turning the clock back three years.

I figure his incredible victory over Murray delivered a massive EMF burst, that has partially reconfigured the universe back to what it was in 07.

With the return of the Pre-Safinite Sisterhood, and with Fed once again delivering beatdowns that leave your eyebrows singed, it does seem suspiciously déjà vu.

Zvonareva d. Jankovic 6-3 6-2

Smokin’ hot and smokin’ not.

(MARWAN NAAMANI/AFP/Getty Images)

Vera came into this event on a high having carried over the larger part of her most potent form from Thailand.

With Indian Wells (and all those points to defend) only weeks away, it couldn’t have come at a better time.

Jelena carried over the most potent parts of precisely nothing.

This time last year, I was predicting for her to win her first Slam at RG – nowadays one wonders whether she’ll even be in top ten contention by then.

I’d actually like to see Vera go on and win this thing – though she’s a set down to Vika as we speak.

Kulikova d. Kuznetsova 7-5 6-7 (2-7) 4-6

Not poetic. Not poetic at all.