US Open 2011 Preview

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Heavy rain falls on a tennis ball as Hurricane Irene heads up the east coast during previews at USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center on August 27, 2011 in New York City.



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The draws are out, the wind and rain will subside, and tomorrow, in the concrete jungle known as New York, the last Slam of the year will begin.



I tend to find men's tennis more compelling than women's, but for at least the fourth Slam in a row, Rafael Nadal and Andy Murray are in the same half of the draw, while Novak Djokovic and Roger Federer reside in the other half. And while I haven't checked about, I bet the fanged Scot is most pundits pick to win the title.



Yawn.



Two-time defending champion Kim Clijsters is nursing an injury, so most will probably tell you that Serena Williams is the favorite in New York. No big surprise, but I agree. Unless there's a major upset, she'll face Victoria Azarenka in the third round. I'm sure that match will be hyped to the hilt, but I sincerely doubt it will live up to it. From what little tennis I've seen this summer, Serena is on a mission. I don't see anyone in the draw stopping her from claiming her fourth US Open crown and 14th major title. I'm not suggesting it's going to be a run to winner's circle without the loss of a set, but who would be shocked if it were?



As for a few of the rest: Will Juan Martín del Potro find his best form at his favorite tournament? How recovered is Robin Söderling? Are there any Americans other than Serena ready to thrill the home crowd with an appearance on the final weekend? Will the reigning Roland Garros and Wimbledon champions on the women's side get their groove on in Flushing Meadows, or will Li Na and Petra Kvitova have to be satisfied with a lone Slam title this season? Who's going to defeat the top-ranked player on the women's side? Which youngster on either tour has the best chance to steal the show?



I'm ready to find out. Are you?

Believing In Himself: Tsonga Shocks Federer

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Jo-Wilfried Tsonga is the first Black man to advance to a Wimbledon semifinal since MaliVai Washington in 1996. And he did it in extraordinary style. Down two sets to love against the great Roger Federer, having flailed away a second-set tiebreak, he gathered himself and decided to play the kind of tennis we know he can play when he puts his mind to it.

“He took risks and chances, and it all worked for him," Federer told the press after the match. “It’s hard to accept, because I feel I was as good as he was in terms of how I was playing. But he closed really well and served really well for a long time. I knew he could do it, but it was still impressive to see when you’re across the net.”

I've been on Federer in the past for his remarks in losses, but this time, he gets it completely right. Maturity will do that to you.

A stunning 178-0 was Federer after winning the first two sets at Slams, I'd bet the farm no one saw Tsonga coming all the way back, even after winning the third set. But in the final set, after opening with a break of serve, there were two points when it became clear to me Tsonga would hold his nerve and complete the upset of the tournament. Returning at 3-5, Federer was up 40-0. Two first serves later, it was 40-30. Tsonga hit two winning forehand returns that made the crowd ooh and aah. I almost expected Tsonga to get tight in that return game, have that tightness carry over to match game, and find himself struggling to close. But those two winners told the tale. Tsonga actually believed. Federer held on the next point, the players changed ends, and Tsonga closed out the match to love when a Federer backhand return floated long.

“The feeling is like maybe beating Nadal in Roland Garros,” Tsonga said after the match. “It’s just amazing. For me, it will be for sure one of the best memories in my career.”

As a spectator, it will be an enduring memory for me too. For Tsonga's game is made for the grass and the grass is where real tennis is contested. He can do anything on the court. Anything at all. But too often, he seems to refuse to bring his magical gifts to bear throughout the course of a match. Not today. At least not through the last three sets. The Frenchman, who ditched a coach in order to become a man and figure out how to win on his own, played the kind of tennis I've always wanted to see from him against this player, on this court, at this event.

Novak Djokovic, who won but struggled against 18-year-old Bernard Tomic, is up next. I'm believing Tsonga will be playing the final.

I'm hoping he's believing it, too.

Wimbledon 2011 Day 1 Open Thread

by Craig Hickman



A tennis fans reads a newspaper as they wait outside the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club on June 20, 2011 in London, England.

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I'm doing my Wimbledon happy dance right now. I've harvested some sweet strawberries and drenched them in fresh goat cream (delish), and I'm simply delighted that the Crown Jewel of tennis is upon us.

Already, Venus Williams' seeding and assignment to Court 2 are being criticized by Chris Evert, Brad Gilbert and Chris Fowler from ESPN's studio. The 5-time champion is about to take the court.

As per tradition, the defending champion Rafael Nadal is up first on Centre Court against American veteran Micheal Russell.

I'm thinking Jelena Dokic upends Francesca Schiavone today.

The Championships 2011

Intended Order of Play for Monday 20 June 2011

CENTRE - SHOW COURT - 1.00 PM START

1. Rafael Nadal (ESP) [1] vs Michael Russell (USA)
2. Francesca Schiavone (ITA) [6] vs Jelena Dokic (AUS)
3. Andy Murray (GBR) [4] vs Daniel Gimeno-Traver (ESP)

COURT 1 - SHOW COURT - 1.00 PM START

1. Alison Riske (USA) vs Vera Zvonareva (RUS) [2]
2. Filippo Volandri (ITA) vs Tomas Berdych (CZE) [6] .
3. Andreas Beck (GER) vs Andy Roddick (USA) [8]

COURT 2 - SHOW COURT - 12.00 NOON START

1. Akgul Amanmuradova (UZB) vs Venus Williams (USA) [23]
2. Gael Monfils (FRA) [9] vs Matthias Bachinger (GER)
3. Magdalena Rybarikova (SVK) vs Victoria Azarenka (BLR) [4]
4. Radek Stepanek (CZE) vs Fernando Verdasco (ESP) [21]

COURT 3 - SHOW COURT - 12.00 NOON START

1. Katie O'Brien (GBR) vs Kimiko Date-Krumm (JPN)
2. Potito Starace (ITA) vs Stanislas Wawrinka (SUI) [14]
3. Ivan Ljubicic (CRO) vs Marin Cilic (CRO) [27]
4. Jelena Jankovic (SRB) [15] vs Maria Jose Martinez Sanchez (ESP)

COURT 12 - SHOW COURT - 12.00 NOON START

1. Mardy Fish (USA) [10] vs Marcel Granollers (ESP)
2. Shuai Zhang (CHN) vs Svetlana Kuznetsova (RUS) [12}
3. Ivo Karlovic (CRO) vs Janko Tipsarevic (SRB) [23]
4. Naomi Broady (GBR) vs Anne Keothavong (GBR)

COURT 18 - SHOW COURT - 12.00 NOON START

1. Yanina Wickmayer (BEL) [19] vs Varvara Lepchenko (USA)
2. Richard Gasquet (FRA) [17] vs Santiago Giraldo (COL)
3. Juan Martin Del Potro (ARG) [24] vs Flavio Cipolla (ITA)
4. LL Stephanie Foretz Gacon (FRA) vs Andrea Petkovic (GER) [11]

COURT 4 - 12.00 NOON START

1. Feliciano Lopez (ESP) vs Michael Berrer (GER)
2. Edouard Roger-Vasselin (FRA) vs Gilles Simon (FRA) [15]
3. Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova (RUS) [14] vs Lesia Tsurenko (UKR)

COURT 5 - 12.00 NOON START

1. Pablo Andujar (ESP) vs Ryan Sweeting (USA)
2. Kateryna Bondarenko (UKR) vs Alize Cornet (FRA)
3. Barbora Zahlavova Strycova (CZE) vs Aleksandra Wozniak (CAN)
4. Irina Falconi (USA) vs Stephanie Dubois (CAN)

COURT 6 - 12.00 NOON START

1. Grega Zemlja (SLO) vs Lukas Lacko (SVK)
2. Tobias Kamke (GER) vs Blaz Kavcic (SLO)
3. Rebecca Marino (CAN) vs Patricia Mayr-Achleitner (AUT)

COURT 7 - 12.00 NOON START

1. Elena Vesnina (RUS) vs Laura Pous-Tio (ESP)
2. Ruben Bemelmans (BEL) vs Julien Benneteau (FRA)
3. Sandra Zahlavova (CZE) vs Iveta Benesova (CZE)
4. Kai-Chen Chang (TPE) vs Marina Erakovic (NZL)

COURT 8 - 12.00 NOON START

1. Shahar Peer (ISR) [22]vs Ksenia Pervak (RUS)
2. Frederico Gil (POR) vs Dudi Sela (ISR)
3. Olivier Rochus (BEL) vs Kenny De Schepper (FRA)

COURT 9 - 12.00 NOON START

1. Anastasia Pivovarova (RUS) 1vs Anna Tatishvili (GEO)
2. Igor Kunitsyn (RUS) vs Igor Sijsling (NED)
3. Jaroslav Pospisil (CZE) vs Victor Hanescu (ROU)

COURT 10 - 12.00 NOON START

1. Sorana Cirstea (ROU) vs Pauline Parmentier (FRA)
2. Martin Fischer (AUT) vs Simone Bolelli (ITA)
3. Monica Niculescu (ROU) vs Sybille Bammer (AUT)

COURT 14 - 12.00 NOON START

1. Fabio Fognini (ITA) vs Milos Raonic (CAN) [31]
2. Christina McHale (USA) vs Ekaterina Makarova (RUS) [28]
3. Sergiy Stakhovsky (UKR) vs Daniel Cox (GBR)
4. Vera Dushevina (RUS) vs Roberta Vinci (ITA) [29]

COURT 15 - 12.00 NOON START

1. Philipp Kohlschreiber (GER) vs Denis Istomin (UZB)
2. Sara Errani (ITA) vs Kaia Kanepi (EST) [17]
3. Arnaud Clement (FRA) vs Lukasz Kubot (POL)

COURT 16 - 12.00 NOON START

1. Thomaz Bellucci (BRA) [30] vs Rainer Schuettler (GER)
2. Juan Ignacio Chela (ARG) [25] vs Marinko Matosevic (AUS)
3. Vania King (USA) vs Petra Martic (CRO)

COURT 17 - 12.00 NOON START

1. Donald Young (USA) vs Alex Bogomolov Jr (USA)
2. Ayumi Morita (JPN) vs Tamira Paszek (AUT)
3. Vesna Dolonts (RUS) vs Nadia Petrova (RUS)
4. Daniela Hantuchova (SVK) [25] vs Vitalia Diatchenko (RUS)

COURT 19 - 12.00 NOON START

Gilles Muller (LUX) vs Tommy Haas (GER)
Jill Craybas (USA) 1vs Alexandra Dulgheru (ROU)
Robin Haase (NED) vs Pere Riba (ESP)

MATCHES TO BE ARRANGED - NOT BEFORE 5.00 PM
Petra Kvitova (CZE) [8] vs Alexa Glatch (USA)
Tsvetana Pironkova (BUL) [32]vs Camila Giorgi (ITA)

GENTLEMEN AND LADIES SINGLES LUCKY LOSER SIGN-INS CLOSE AT 11:30 AM

The Committee, while adhering as closely as possible to the order of play given, is unable to guarantee that it will be maintained in its entirety. This may result in matches being moved from one court to another. Andrew Jarrett - Referee

Roland Garros 2011 Parting Glances

by Craig Hickman


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We said the women's field was wide open, and it was.

Or was it?

After all, the defending champion lost to this year's Australian Open runner up, neither of whom earned a spot in my original poll.

Why?


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Because I felt there was no way Francesca Schiavone would come anywhere close to defending her title, what with her inability to make a final anywhere in the world since she won this thing, and because Li Na has been struggling since Melbourne.

Who would have thought Madame Li (Forty Deuce gets that credit) would make back-to-back Slam finals and make history (again) by claiming this one?

I didn't think so.

But at the end of the day, while her victory may have come as a surprise, the draw wasn't, ultimately, that wide open. We simply overlooked these finalists for the winners of the lead-up events and Kim Clijsters. Woe is us.

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For all the talk (and talk and talk talk talk) of American ineptitude on clay, John Isner took two sets off the eventual champion. I'm going to say that again: John Isner took two tiebreak sets off the eventual champion. Even the great Roger Federer couldn't do that. And Bjorn Fratangelo (what a name), a young man from Pennsylvania, won the Boys' title.


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Chew on that.

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The Tennis Channel gave good coverage. ESPN? Not so much. NBC? It's all already been criticized, but if you treat tennis like a bad stepchild then you really ought not be a parent. Enough said.

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It almost feels like Caroline Wozniacki never even played this Slam. She was drubbed what seems like a tournament ago. Some like to say I hate on her. I simply find her lacking credibility as the tour's top player specifically and as a sports phenomenon generally. After her drubbing, she called herself a "great player." I think she has herself confused with a few of her friends on the WTA.

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Victoria Azarenka lost to the eventual champion (as did my pick Petra Kvitiva) so I won't be too hard on her this time. But she has now failed to advance past the quarterfinals of a Slam every time she's gotten there, and she's gotten there lots. Are we to start calling her Victoria Quarterenka?

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Truth be told, I want to see a French player win Roland Garros before I die. I don't know when I'm going to die, but given how much the French fans seem to support they're own players, I have a sneaking suspicion I'm going to die unfulfilled. At least Marion Bartoli, who made the final four before falling to the defending champion, gave me hope. And what tennis.

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I thought the men's final would have been better had Novak Djokovic found a way to deal with the pressure of playing for the No. 1 ranking in the semis. I know, I know. Conventional wisdom says Federer played a brilliant match to end The Streak. I didn't quite see it that way. He served superbly. That I concede. But winning a match behind a great first serve hasn't ever earned Andy Roddick a whole lot of kudos, so I'm not exactly sure why Federer got so many this go around. To my eyes, Djokovic simply couldn't handle it all. And that's okay. You'd think he would've received a little more crowd support (just a little bit) during his match if for nothing else bulletting tennis to the top of the sports headlines for such an incredible run.

Still, no need to wax poetic about Federer's game despite the knee-jerk reaction to do so. During today's final, a tennis player even tweeted that Nadal and Federer are simply head and shoulders above the rest of the field. Really? I shook my head. It's a cliche that doesn't hold water anymore. Not right now anyway. I'm not talking about overall achievements. I'm talking about recent play. Before today, Federer hadn't contested a Slam final in more than a year and only won a single title in 2011. Djokovic was denied a quarterfinal by a drama queen and while we'll never know if those 4 days off mattered much to his rhythm in the end, it probably gave him more time to think. Those are the breaks. But let's not so quickly forget what the world No. 2 achieved going back to Davis Cup last year. Just because the Great One finally defeated the Unbeatable One (after losing three times in a row to him this year) doesn't mean that the world No. 3 is currently anywhere above Djokovic by any 2011 measure, head or shoulder. A Nadal-Djokovic final would have been far more intriguing from first ball to last.

That's my story and I'm sticking to it.

See you on the lawns.

Davis Cup Open Thread

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Jim Courier, John Isner, Andy Roddick, Bob and Mike Bryan of the U.S Davis Cup team pose after beating Chile's team during their Davis Cup tennis match in Santiago March 6, 2011.

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World Group First Round

SERBIA defeats INDIA 4-1
Venue: Spens Sports Center, Novi Sad, SRB (hard – indoors)


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Viktor Troicki of Serbia reacts after beating Somdev Devvarman of India during their Davis Cup World Group first round tennis match on March 6, 2011, in Novi Sad.

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Viktor Troicki (SRB) d. Rohan Bopanna (IND) 63 63 57 36 63
Somdev Devvarman (IND) d. Janko Tipsarevic (SRB) 75 75 76(3)
Ilija Bozoljac/Nenad Zimonjic (SRB) d. Rohan Bopanna/Somdev Devvarman (IND) 46 63 64 76(10)
Viktor Troicki (SRB) d. Somdev Devvarman (IND) 64 62 75
Janko Tipsarevic (SRB) d. Leander Paes (IND) 60 61

SWEDEN defeats RUSSIA 3-2
Venue: Borashallen, Boras, SWE (hard – indoors)

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Sweden's Robert Lindstedt reacts during his Davis Cup first round doubles match with Simon Aspelin (R) against Russia's Igor Kunitsyn and Dmitry Tursunov at the Borashallen stadium in Boras, east of Gothenburg on March 5, 2011.

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Robin Soderling (SWE) d. Igor Andreev (RUS) 63 63 61
Joachim Johansson (SWE) d. Teymuraz Gabashvili (RUS) 63 76(4) 64 *
Simon Aspelin/Robert Lindstedt (SWE) d. Igor Kunitsyn/Dmitry Tursunov (RUS) 64 67(6) 76(6) 62
Teymuraz Gabashvili (RUS) d Simon Aspelin (SWE) 75 62
Igor Andreev (RUS) d. Joachim Johansson (SWE) 76(8) 64

*This is Johansson's first high-level match in a year, coming out of retirement for a third (?) time.

KAZAKHSTAN defeats CZECH REPUBLIC 3-2 *
Venue: CZE Arena, Ostrava, CZE (hard – indoors)

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Andrey Golubev (KAZ) d. Jan Hajek (CZE) 76(4) 67(3) 16 76(4) 63
Tomas Berdych (CZE) d Mikhail Kukushkin (KAZ) 76(5) 62 63
Tomas Berdych/Lukas Dlouhy (CZE) d. Yuriy Schukin/Evgeny Korolev (KAZ) 64 64 76(4)
Andrey Golubev (KAZ) d. Tomas Berdych (CZE) 75 57 64 62
Mikhail Kukushkin (KAZ) d. Jan Hajek (CZE) 64 67(4) 76(8) 60

*This is Kazakhstan's World Group debut.

ARGENTINA defeats ROMANIA 4-1
Venue: Parque Roca, Buenos Aires, ARG (clay – outdoors)


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Argentina's Juan Ignacio Chela (L) and Eduardo Schwank celebrate after winning their Davis Cup doubles tennis match against Romania's Victor Hanescu and Horia Tecau in Buenos Aires March 5, 2011.

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David Nalbandian (ARG) d. Adrian Ungur (ROU) 63 62 57 64
Juan Monaco (ARG) d. Victor Hanescu (ROU) 76(5) 16 61 61
Juan Ignacio Chela/Eduardo Schwank (ARG) d. Victor Hanescu/Horia Tecau (ROU) 62 76(8) 61
Eduardo Schwank (ARG) d. Victor Hanescu (ROU) 76(3) 62
Juan Monaco (ARG) v Adrian Ungur (ROU)

USA defeats CHILE 4-1
Venue: Estadio Nacional, Santiago, CHI (clay – outdoors)


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Andy Roddick of the U.S shakes hand after beating Chile's Paul Capdeville in their Davis Cup tennis match in Santiago March 6, 2011.

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Andy Roddick (USA) d. Nicolas Massu (CHI) 62 46 63 64 *
Paul Capdeville (CHI) d. John Isner (USA) 67(5) 67(2) 76(3) 76(5) 64
Bob Bryan/Mike Bryan (USA) d. Jorge Aguilar/Nicolas Massu (CHI) 63 63 76(4)
Andy Roddick (USA) d. Paul Capdeville (CHI) 36 76(2) 63 64**
John Isner (USA) d. Guillermo Rivera-Aranguiz (CHI) 63 67(4) 75

*Coming into this tie, Roddick held a 1-3 career head-to-head against Massu, though they haven't played since 2006. This is his first victory over Massu on clay in three tries. Roddick's only victory over Massu? A Davis Cup rubber on grass in the United States back in 2006, the last year they played.

**Roddick's ninth consecutive Davis Cup victory when playing a rubber to close out a tie.

SPAIN defeats BELGIUM 4-1
Venue: Spiroudome, Charleroi, BEL (hard – indoors)


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Feliciano Lopez celebrate with Spain's Davis Cup team members after he and Fernando Verdasco won their Davis Cup World Group, first round tennis match against Belgium's Olivier Rochus and Steve Darcis in Charleroi, Belgium, Saturday, March 5, 2011. Spain leads after 2 days with 3-0 and qualifies for the next round.

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Fernando Verdasco (ESP) d. Xavier Malisse (BEL) 64 63 61
Rafael Nadal (ESP) d. Ruben Bemelmans (BEL) 62 64 62
Feliciano Lopez/Fernando Verdasco (ESP) d. Xavier Malisse/Olivier Rochus (BEL) 76(0) 64 63
Rafael Nadal (ESP) d. Olivier Rochus 64 62
Steve Darcis (BEL) d. Feliciano Lopez (ESP) 67(4) 76(6) 76(3)

GERMANY defeats CROATIA 3-2
Venue: Dom Sportova, Zagreb, CRO (hard – indoors)


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Germany's Davis Cup team celebrate after defeating Croatia at the Davis Cup World Group first round match in Zagreb March 6, 2011.

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Marin Cilic (CRO) d. Florian Mayer (GER) 46 60 46 63 61
Philipp Kohlschreiber (GER) d. Ivan Dodig (CRO) 64 36 36 76(6) 64
Christopher Kas/Philipp Petzschner (GER) d. Ivan Dodig/Ivo Karlovic (CRO) 63 36 75 36 64
Marin Cilic (CRO) d. Philipp Kohlschreiber (GER) 62 63 76(6)
Philipp Petzchner (GER) d. Ivo Karlovic (CRO) 64 76(3) 76(5)

FRANCE defeats AUSTRIA 3-2
Venue: Vienna Airport Hangar 3, Vienna, AUT (clay – indoors)

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Jeremy Chardy of France returns a shot to Austrian Martin Fischer during their Davis Cup first round match at the Schvechat airport hangar, 3,20 km east from Vienna, on March 6, 2011.

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Jeremy Chardy (FRA) d. Jurgen Melzer (AUT) 75 64 75
Gilles Simon (FRA) d. Stefan Koubek (AUT) 60 62 63
Oliver Marach/Jurgen Melzer (AUT) d. Julien Benneteau/Michael Llodra (FRA) 64 36 63 64
Jurgen Melzer (AUT) d. Gilles Simon (FRA) 76(7) 36 16 64 60
Jeremy Chardy (FRA) d. Martin Fischer (AUT) 26 76(4) 63 63

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This will be your open thread throughout the weekend.

Enjoy.

Drive By

by Craig Hickman

David Ferrer defended a title. Novak Djokovic, too. Juan Martin del Potro returned to the winner's circle for the first time in his comeback.

Vera Zvonareva toppled the computer's top-ranked player to win her 11th title and Gisela Dulko took a singles title for the first time since 2008.

I don't typically watch any of the events on the calendar this week, finals included. Not even the one in the United States. The timing is all wrong. Not to mention sanctions.

Next up: Davis Cup.

Historic Face Of The Day

Serena Williams holds the Coupe Suzanne Lenglen after defeating her sister Venus Williams at the French Open Tennis Championships on June 8, 2002 at Stade Roland Garros in Paris, France.

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The only Black woman in the Open Era and the last American to win Roland Garros.

Face Of The Day

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Jean Gachassin, president of the French tennis federation (FFT) gives a press conference to announce that French Open will remain at Roland Garros on the outskirts of Paris on February 13, 2011 in Paris. Roland Garros, built in 1928, is bursting at the seams and three alternative sites were proposed so that the country's claycourt Grand Slam tournament can grow and expand.

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And so it is. Roland Garros will remain Roland Garros.

Former world No. 1 and Wimbledon champion Amélie Mauresmo isn't so sure that's a good thing:

"I hope they (the French Federation of Tennis) won't get in trouble by taking this decision," Mauresmo said. "I don't know if the tennis aspect prevailed in that decision. I have some doubts. I clearly said that I was more in favor of a development, of an ambition, that is, to move."

"If you can keep the history of the tournament in a place that is big enough to have the crowd happy, the players happy, night matches perhaps, matches when it's raining, then that's the perfect situation," she said. "If you can keep tradition in these conditions, then it's great. I'm not sure that's the case with Roland Garros."

Me either.

Will Roland Garros Have New Digs?

by Craig Hickman


AP

Paris in Springtime May Not Include the French Open
by Christopher Clarey

IT sounded outlandish at first, like nothing more than a thinly disguised bargaining chip. But the prospect of moving the French Open to the suburbs has gradually developed into a legitimate option, or if you are Mayor Bertrand Delanoe of Paris, a legitimate threat.

The vote to determine the future of the grand slam tennis tournament is scheduled for Sunday, when 180 delegates from the French tennis federation will attempt to decide whether the Open will remain at its current location on the western edge of Paris or move farther afield in 2015 to one of three other sites: Gonesse, Marne-la-Vallee or Versailles.

A two-thirds majority will be required for selection. If that proves impossible Sunday, the plan is to reconvene within three months and vote again with only a simple majority necessary.

For now, Paris and the existing Roland Garros Stadium still look to be the slight favourites, considering the French emphasis on tradition and centralisation, and the prohibitive cost of building elsewhere from scratch. But Versailles has the requisite snob appeal, with its palace within walking distance of the proposed location on a former military base, and either Gonesse or Marne-la-Vallee would allow the federation to own its site outright instead of settling for a long-term lease.

All three alternatives offer huge increases in acreage and elbow room for a tournament that is the smallest of the four grand slams and whose walkways can often seem as crowded as a subway car at rush hour.

Rafael Nadal, a five-time French Open champion who could surpass Bjorn Borg's record for singles titles, has repeatedly made it clear he is against the tournament moving, emphasising that it would lose some of its soul. But Justine Henin, the retired Belgian who won the women's title four times, takes a more nuanced approach. ''I have a hard time imagining Roland Garros anywhere else, but I think it's definitely true that the site needs to grow,'' she says. ''The players and the spectators suffer because it's too small. They have to find a solution.''

Nostalgia has hardly been much of a trump card in grand slam tennis. The US Open left the West Side Tennis Club for a bigger, more soulless site in Flushing Meadows in 1978. The Australian Open was held in other cities before it settled in Melbourne at Kooyong, only to pull up stakes and move to a new facility in Melbourne's city centre in 1988. Even Wimbledon moved from Worple Road to its current grounds in 1922, and has been on a modernisation kick of late that has led to the destruction of multiple show courts, including the atmospheric No.1 Court.

Read the rest...

If they move, they better build a stadium with lights and have night sessions. (Are you listening, Wimbledon?) It's time to bring all the Slams into the 21st century.

Fed Cup Photos

AP

Petra Kvitova, left, from Czech Republic is embraced by the team's captain Petr Pala, right, as she celebrates after defeating Daniela Hantuchova from Slovakia in their world group first round tennis match in Bratislava, Slovakia, Sunday, Feb. 6, 2011. Kvitova won the match 6-4, 6-2 and gave Czech Republic a decisive 3-0 lead.

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Aleksandra Krunic (L) and Bojana Jovanovski of Serbia celebrate after beating Sharon Fichman and Marie-Eve Pelletier of Canada during their Fed Cup doubles tennis match on February 6, 2011, in Novi Sad, Serbia. Serbia won the tie.


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US player Bethanie Mattek-Sands returns the ball against Belgian Kim Clijsters during the Fed Cup first round match on February 6, 2011 in Antwerp. Belgium won the tie.



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Russian Svetlana Kuznetsova (L) is congatulated by her former teammate Anastasia Myskina (R) as they celebrate a victory over the French duo of Alize Cornet and Julie Coin during their doubles match of the Fed Cup tennis match in Moscow on February 6, 2011. Russia won the tie.

Djokovic Dominates Murray To Win Australian Open

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More exhibition than Grand Slam final. Andy Murray competed for about half of the first set, but once Novak Djokovic took it on a break of serve, the match was all but over. Even with a minor lapse in the second set when Djokovic slapped a forehand long on a set point to deliver a bagel followed by a loose game to drop serve, he was never in any trouble. 6-4, 6-2, 6-3.

It's been a long time since a women's final eclipsed a men's final for overall quality, drama, and competitiveness, but here we are. Both finals featured the same number of games, but Li Na, despite losing her focus, still played with some passion and fight.

Murray, on the other hand, becomes the first player in the Open Era to lose nine consecutive sets in Slam finals. I'm not going to say it again, but you can no longer consider me a fool for believing it. (For the record, Dinara Safina has also contested three Slam finals without winning a set...) Some of the pundits are now beginning to wonder if we should be talking about the Big Three instead of the Big Four.

Humph.

Djokovic has taken his game to a new level. Focused, precise, efficient. And what incredible defense to offense. There were a few points where I felt like I was watching Serena Williams in full flight. He admitted that winning Davis Cup was a strong wind in his back, and he delivered in spades.

Am I becoming a fan? Maybe. Maybe not. Not sure I can get over a lot of his history, but what I do admire is that he didn't let the premature expectations of being the "Future of Tennis" derail him. (He also proved me wrong. He stopped tanking and talking shit, showing far more respect for the sport.) He slumped. He recovered. He regrouped. He improved. That takes an inner toughness not always seen in the upper echelons of tennis.

And he can play on clay. While no one touts him as the next man capable of winning four Slams in a row, not yet anyhow, wouldn't it be interesting if he found a way to win Roland Garros this spring?


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Face Of The Day

AP

Ana Ivanovic of Serbia sits n the supporters box of compatriot Novak Djokovic for his match against Britain's Andy Murray in the men's singles final at the Australian Open tennis championships in Melbourne, Australia, Sunday, Jan. 30, 2011.

Clijsters Beats Li For Australian Open Title

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I'd love to post a long, insightful write up about this final, but it's not necessary. Kim Clijsters' experience and Li Na's lack of the same propelled the Aussie's favorite adopted daughter to the title 3-6, 6-3, 6-3.

Despite waking up with a stiff neck and dropping the first set behind a rash of errors, Clijsters rallied against the unraveling first-time Slam finalist who let everything but the night sky distract her from focusing on the finish line.

Technically, these two mature-in-age tennis players player a similar game. But Li should never ever take a ball out of the air. Never. In umpteen attempts to put the ball away before letting it bounce, she won a mere two points. (Or was it three?) She gets low marks for overheads/swinging volleys, high marks for stubbornness. One of her amateurish attempts came on set point in the second set when she hit a timid swinging backhand volley right back to Clijsters who blasted it down the line to seal the set. To add insult to injury, the floater she struck was sailing wide.

We all knew what the outcome would be from there, and so it was.

At least Li made Clijsters serve for it, and serve for it she did. She hit three first serves and three groundstroke winners to earn three match points. She missed a first serve on her first one, but Li missed a forehand to give Clijsters her fourth major title and first outside New York.

Video: Li Na Is Really Funny

See the end of the match and the hilarious on-court interview after rallying to defeat the computer's world No. 1 and become the first Asian player in history to advance to the singles final of a Grand Slam.

Authentic humor. And she doesn't even appear to be trying.

Grace

by Craig Hickman


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The Rafa Slam will not come to pass.

Imagine my surprise at the scoreline that flashed on the television when I awoke today. Didn't get to see any of the match until the reply on ESPN late this afternoon. Because of my onging love affair with cooking, I was right out straight all day. Had to cook a lunch for 25 people for my community soup kitchen (roasted chicken, beans, kale, salad, homemade biscuits, and marble cake) and cater a private dinner for 9 at my farm (scallops with fennel buerre blanc, organic carrot ginger soup, organic farm-raised roasted leg of lamb with sour cream and leek mashed potatoes and haricot vert, and Hazelle's Mississippi sweet potato pecan pie with homemade vanilla ice cream), and now I'm beat. But I've sat down for the first time all day to write this drive by.

From what I saw of the match in the background, David Ferrer ran the world No. 1 ragged. Rafa's first service game took forever. And in that forever, he injured himself.

He finished the match.

To his credit, he tried not to make any excuses. Tried not to diminish his compatriot's excellent tennis. Tried not to magnify the loss as he expressed gratitude for all he has won.

In the brief bit of his interview I was able to catch, I was reminded of the Rudyard Kipling quote that appears over the player's entrance to Wimbledon's Centre Court:

If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster
And treat those two impostors just the same;

It takes grace to achieve that. And grace is what I saw in Rafael Nadal today.

The Turning Point

I don't have a problem criticizing the world No. 1 on the women's side. I feel no need to prop her up in ways she doesn't quite deserve simply because she's the face of the tour. You're shocked, I'm sure. And while she deserves her ranking, because, well, the system is what it is and the computer says she's the world No. 1, it's becoming clearer, what with her all her shenanigans, monologues, and tall, tall tales, that she's more interested in being an actress. Or a fiction writer. Now make no mistake, acting and fiction writing are honorable professions. But if you're going to be a serious tennis player then play tennis and stop playing games. Still, the world No. 1 competes hard, doesn't give up, unless she's completely overwhelmed by her opponent and can't call on her father, and does the best she can to earn the respect of those who believe she's a joke.

Most of the match reports from the 2-hour-24-minute, 3-set quarterfinal last night against Ironwoman Francesca Schiavone will tell you that Caroline Wozniacki turned the match around by beginning to step up and put more pressure on the bold Italian. That she changed the thrust of the match and took her elder foe out of her comfort zone. That she showed the world why she was worthy of the No. 1 ranking.

Like beauty, such things are in the eye of the beholder.

I saw a 20-year-old player being schooled by a real tennis player. A player who, to quote dapxin, need not be burdened by anything more than sweet candy. A player so desperate to win the match, she took a medical timeout off the court after dropping the first set to have her left thigh taped. A player who, after icing her opponent with such nonsense, returned to the court and fell behind a break of serve and got so angry she ripped the tape off her thigh, running about like the squirrel she was before the icing.

And then I saw a 30-year-old woman who had played the longest women's Grand Slam singles match in recorded history, who, last night, didn't call for the trainer once, crash head first into a brick wall. Out of nowhere, she committed 4 horrific errors, lost her advantage, lost her way. Was that nonsense icing the turning point, the stoppage of play that allowed fatigue to set like concrete, both in her body and in her mind?

The Ironwoman was gracious enough to say she wasn't at all tired, that Little Miss Sunshine, without the leg wrap she had stopped the match to receive, simply started to play her tennis and that was that. Good for her. But by the beginning of the third set, I saw a woman who looked as though that head crash caused concussion, a disoriented woman who had nothing left and left nothing unspent.

Whatever the case, from where I sit, the story of the match reads as follows:

A 20-year-old woman needed a 30-year-old woman who played for 4 hours and 44 minutes in her previous match to hit a wall just to have a chance to win her quarterfinal.

::

Thank you, Francesca, for lifting the WTA to new heights, if only for one fortnight.

AP

Australian Open 2011 Day 9 Open Thread

Reuters

Fans of Rafael Nadal of Spain cheer during his match against Marin Cilic of Croatia at the Australian Open tennis tournament in Melbourne January 24, 2011.

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If you're a Roger Federer fan, you might want to avert your eyes, for what I'm about to say may cause a mild case of heartburn.

Before the Roddick-Wawrinka match, Raja told the ESPN studio commentators that Wawrinka would have the advantage over Roddick because he had already played a night match while Roddick hadn't.

On another episode, the same commentators declared that the all-Swiss quarterfinal which resulted would obviously be the featured night match, while the all-Eastern-European affair would be contested during the day.

So, using Raja's own thinking, it would seem that a day match for the all-Swiss affair would be an advantage to the defending champion because his compatriot has played his last two matches at night and therefore is playing well within 48 hours of his last match.

I won't even begin to suggest that the organizers asked Raja what he preferred, thereby allowing him to actually choose this advantageous scheduling. Nope. Not at all. Not even for a second.

But he receives the advantage anyway.

Humph.

I hope Peter Lungren has his charge ready to produce an upset in broad daylight.

Order Of Play For Tuesday, 25 January, 2011

Rod Laver Arena 11:00 AM Start Time

1. Women's Singles - Quarterfinals
Andrea Petkovic (GER)[30] v. Na Li (CHN)[9]

Not Before:12:30 PM

2. Men's Singles - Quarterfinals
Stanislas Wawrinka (SUI)[19] v. Roger Federer (SUI)[2]
3. Women's Singles - Quarterfinals
Caroline Wozniacki (DEN)[1] v. Francesca Schiavone (ITA)[6]

Rod Laver Arena 7:30 PM Start Time

1. Men's Singles - Quarterfinals
Tomas Berdych (CZE)[6] v. Novak Djokovic (SRB)[3]

Video: Berdych Visits Melbourne Zoo

Quote For The Day

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Not a quote, exactly, but a passage from an article last year about Alexandr Dolgopolov.

"I have this problem from birth—some blood problems. Sometimes, I don't feel so well, especially when I change time zones a lot: Australia, Europe to the U.S. . . That's why I don't like to fly. Sometimes it affects my game, and I just have to deal with it. I couldn't have the usual [medical] treatment before the U.S. Open Series because I played Umag and then had just five days before I came to the U.S."

"And what exactly is that treatment?"

"They do intravenous blood stuff. They just put some medicine in, and I have to take some pills and change my diet, take some time [two weeks] off."

I had to ask, what is this disease officially called?

"I don't really want to say a lot. . . I just have it. It affects my stomach. I feel ill all the time. I don't want to eat. So for four tournaments now, I couldn't play my game. "In Cincinnati, I felt a lot better. I was more consistent in my game. Here in New York, I didn't even practice before the tournament. I practiced today for 20 minutes, just to hit the ball. I'm feeling really bad.

"So today I risked what I could, got a few games, but pretty well that was the maximum of what I can do. I couldn't run. I couldnt serve. I was feeling dizzy. I just had to go for it because the more I played the worse I felt. So I just play like I could, and with David you have to play really soild, because he's running so good, and he's getting all the balls back. I couldn't let him play a lot."

I felt badly for the guy. I reminded him he still managed to pull an impressive number of rabbits out of his hat.

"Well, it's my style, too. I don't wait for the other guys. I don't run like crazy on the baseline. I like to play a lot of risk—attacking tennis, serving fast, going to net, drop shots. . .And now, with my health, I don't have a choice. I can't imagine running and working out points."

Australian Open 2011 Day 8 Open Thread

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Switzerland fans show their colours during day seven of the 2011 Australian Open at Melbourne Park on January 23, 2011 in Melbourne, Australia.

::

I see three upsets, none of which will be all that surprising.

Order Of Play For Monday, 24 January 2011

Rod Laver Arena 11:00 AM Start Time

1. Men's Singles - 4th Round
Robin Soderling (SWE)[4] v. Alexandr Dolgopolov (UKR)
2. Men's Singles - 4th Round
Jurgen Melzer (AUT)[11] v. Andy Murray (GBR)[5]

Rod Laver Arena 7:30 PM Start Time

1. Men's Singles - 4th Round
Rafael Nadal (ESP)[1] v. Marin Cilic (CRO)[15]
2. Women's Singles - 4th Round
Ekaterina Makarova (RUS) v. Kim Clijsters (BEL)[3]

Hisense Arena 11:00 AM Start Time

1. Women's Singles - 4th Round
Petra Kvitova (CZE)[25] v. Flavia Pennetta (ITA)[22]
2. Women's Singles - 4th Round
Iveta Benesova (CZE) v. Vera Zvonareva (RUS)[2]
3. Men's Singles - 4th Round
Milos Raonic (CAN) v. David Ferrer (ESP)[7]

Margaret Court Arena 11:00 AM Start Time

Not Before:1:30 PM
3. Women's Singles - 4th Round
Shuai Peng (CHN) v. Agnieszka Radwanska (POL)[12]