Rome: Weird Schliz Happens.

Only saw the latter half of this so not really qualified to speak.

Which of course means I’m gonna.



Gasquet d. Federer 4-6 7-6(2) 7-6(4)

First point: Reeshie pulling off this schliz should surprise precisely no one. Oh I know, his brain was meant to turn into jelly-beans in the final set tie break , and it didn’t. That is surprising.

What isn’t surprising is his big-budget game: everyone knows he has this kind of result in him.

Second: Rome pulling off this schliz should surprise precisely no one.

Remember in 08 when around half the draw retired with injury and Stan Wawrinka made the final? He wasn’t even awesome back then – and I seem to remember Novak winning the whole thing having barely played three matches.



Not to mention Fed imploding against Volandri the year before. And he was awesome back then.

Weird schliz happens in Rome. And what’s more is, we may not be done yet.

Think, in particular, of Nole’s streak.

It would be exactly in keeping with Rome for someone completely out of sorts to put an end to it. In straight sets, of course, and all with out any ceremony whatsoever. Someone who thinks of clay as his “worst surface”. Someone like, say, Andy Murray.

It’s just so hilariously incredible, its actually credible. (Thanks @artincircles) 

Face Of The Day

Getty

Richard Gasquet of France plays a backhand in his match against Viktor Troicki of Serbia during day five of the 2011 Medibank International at Sydney Olympic Park Tennis Centre on January 13, 2011 in Sydney, Australia.

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Women's Singles - Semifinals
(3) Kim Clijsters (BEL) d. Alisa Kleybanova (RUS) 46 63 76(1)
(8) Li Na (CHN) d. (Q) Bojana Jovanovski (SRB) 76(5) 63


Women's Doubles - Semifinals
Benesova/Zahlavova Strycova (CZE/CZE) d. (2) Huber/Petrova (USA/RUS) 57 76(1) 10-6
(3) Peschke/Srebotnik (CZE/SLO) d. Jans/Rosolska (POL/POL) 63 61

Men's Singles - Quarterfinals
[3] E Gulbis (LAT) d S Stakhovsky (UKR) 64 64
[4] V Troicki (SRB) d [5] R Gasquet (FRA) 64 64
G Simon (FRA) d A Dolgopolov (UKR) 64 63
F Mayer (GER) d P Starace (ITA) 64 61

Men's Doubles - Quarterfinals
[1] B Bryan (USA) / M Bryan (USA) d M Knowles (BAH) / M Mertinak (SVK) 63 62
L Dlouhy (CZE) / P Hanley (AUS) d [3] L Kubot (POL) / O Marach (AUT) 36 62 11-9

USO: Imagine.

 

Didn’t quite work out.

 

Archived so we might remember.

 

John Lennon would have been proud Reeshie.

 

 

 

Imagine no fear of failure,

It’s easy if you try,

No frailty, no indecision,

No Pamela nearby..

 

Imagine all the people,

Living the harmony…

 

Imagine there’s no doubles,

It isn’t hard to do,

Only single-handed backhands,

No UFEs too…

 

Imagine all the people,

in single-handed glee..

 

Imagine there’s no confusion

It isn’t hard to do

No weight of expectation

And no delusion too…

 

Imagine all the people,

sharing all the world,

 

You may say that I’m a dreamer,

BUT I SURE AS **** AM NOT THE ONLY ONE….

USO: Save it for the judge. Or something.

 

 

 

Much as I’m in favour of this sort of thing (and much as it makes the poor sod on the other side of the net LOATHE you), this is akin to a stand up comic using up all his best gags in a teaser. It also has something of the Christians and the lions about it.

 

A little more quotidian, not to mention a little more restraint, if you please.

 

Meanwhile, a little more abandon and  far more belligerence from Sod would go down nicely too.

 

Five sets in a first round match against a guy making his first appearance at a Slam?

 

Oh I’m sure Haider-Maurer played the match of his career. It’s also true that, since Wimby, Sod’s developed a most worrying tendency to storm through the early parts of a match before allowing his inner, more flatulent self to lose control of the ship.

 

 

Early on yesterday I casually surmised that if any one of Ivanovic, Stosur, LaMonf and Reeshie were to lose their opening round matches, we shouldn’t, in fact, consider it an upset however upsetting it might personally be.

 

All survived. Reeshie and Ana easily, LaMonf and Stosur less convincingly.

 

Quite what this demonstrates – other than that I’m shit at making anti-predictions – I don’t claim to understand. Though the take out as far as Stosur’s concerned appears to be that she should be closing these matches out with significantly less pain.

Ana appeared to be striking the ball well though one competent win against a dithering opponent does not a comeback make. Zheng next.

 

 

 

Pull yourself together….or not.

 

 

Darned if I know what’s come over Reeshie recently.

 

Putting together consecutive wins and knocking out Misha the #12 seed ?

 

Pull yourself together man.

 

Describing the incident as “unacceptable”, Reeshie has reportedly apologised, takes full responsibility and has vowed “to never allow that to happen again”.

Roland Garros: The ‘Talanted’ Mr Reeshie

maybe i m bad or very bad as i say that but i would like Richard and Andy to go to 5 sets so we can watch nice tennis!and enjoy!

-- Sveta’s Twitter Feed

You're not very bad Sveta - you're just like the tennis loving rest of us.

Following Sveta’s tweets was almost as good as following the match itself – I had hoped to dedicate an entire post to them, but have settled for a happier compromise.

Biceps, bathroom-breaks and five set comebacks that make your ears bleed. If it feels like we’ve been here before it’s because we have.

Except we needn’t have. For two and a half sets The ‘Talanted’ Mr Reeshie could do no wrong.

Backhand of Richard is just stuning pfffff

…

i think Richard has much more confidence as he won last week!you can see that!And Andy didnt play many matches,this guys are so talanted

Reeshie was up a break and two sets before his talant quite painfully hit the wall. Things were less stuning after that.

I have some sympathy with Reeshie’s request for a Tuesday start – I have little time for those crowing loudly about Murrays improved fitness.

Lets be honest: neither of these gents are famed for their prowess over five sets.

I generally take the view that Murray has at most two five setters in him over the course of a Slam before, he too, hits the wall.

Whilst he did well to keep his cool and outlast Reeshie this time, I suspect that has as much to do with Reeshie’s 10 match clay court streak coming into this – his shotmaking in sets one and two was so inspired it actually elicited a smile from Murray: Martian rock has been known to yield water sooner.

With Sveta on his tactics and exection however, which aside from that unsavoury first serve percentage (43%) was right on the money, in a completely unspectacular way.

i m not agree!i thin Andys game is smart,maybe on tv looks like he has no game plan,but he feels the court very well he all the time change

…

pace of the ball and makes other player very uncomfortable!he doesent overpower them but plays smart!

I dunno about you all, but I’m sick to death of hearing of players’ aversion to their chosen sport - something that's now been elevated, almost, to an artform.

ufff what a match...I think Andy sees that Richard is tired and moves him more....then longer match goes then less chances for Richard

…

guys i m not terrible just want to watch nice tennis! many players strugle now and we dont see many good matches! Amelie is doing the match

How refreshing to find a tennis player that actually enjoys watching "nice tennis".

I’m 'stuned'.

(Photos: Getty)

Day 2: Routine

by KarenFed

Day 2 of the French Open started off quite slowly, at least for me. Not a lot of eye popping matches today even though the No. 1 players on both tours took to the courts today.

The day’s events started with Caroline Wozniacki, the newest media darling, vying for a place in the second round against Alla Kudrayetseva (she of the Maria Sharapova upset at Wimbledon because she did not like her outfit). Many thought that she would have hated Wozniacki’s sack dress and sent her packing but alas it was not to be. Alla took a 0 and 3 beating. The Dane moves on to the second round.

Roger Federer made short work of Polish-descended Australian journeyman Peter Luczak. Luczak started off playing well, serving and volleying and drop shotting Federer for all he was worth but the world’s No. 1 kept his head and was able to pull out the win with a 4, 1 and 2 victory.

A match that I saw this morning that made me sit up and take notice was that of the American veteran Taylor Dent who outlasted Nicholas Lapentti in a well played straight set match. Dent served and volleyed, hit some lovely passing shots, and played well off the ground. The tiebreak was classic. The score was 6-3, 6-4 and 7-6.

The women's world No. 1 Serena Williams had her hands full in the first set against a very feisty Stefanie Voegele, a Swiss Miss. Voegele first came to my attention when she played Venus tough at Wimbledon a few years ago. Since then I have seen her name in draws but she is usually out by the time it gets to TV time. She has a very good serve and she used it well today, keeping Serena to no break points for an entire set. Serena faced several break points but she does what she does best and held on for 6-5. Voegela took it to a tie break where Serena went into playing mode and won the tie break decisively. Voegele, as well as the very vocal French crowd that was supporting her whole demeanor, went down not only from the first set tiebreak but in the second set she all but disappeared. Serena took the match 7-6, 6-2. Can I say that if Serena makes it to the quarters where she has a potential matchup with Justine Henin, she will need to do to Justine and the French crowd exactly what she did to Samantha Stosur in Australia. She will have to play fierce tennis. Serve well, play well, no tantrums and take the crowd out of the equation.

Novak Djokovic v. Evgeny Korolev. For a man who was anointed by some as the real King of tennis, Djokovic’s fortunes have been non-existent. He battled himself and his opponent today to squeak out a 4 set win and move on to the next round. I admit I hardly watched any of this match as Novak bores me these days.

Ana Ivanovic v. Kai Chen Yuang. Double faults in the double digits. Caught ball tosses, Unforced error after unforced error. Looks of bewilderment. This match was ugly. The score does not define what happened out there. A disaster. Ivanovic won 3 and 3. It was a lot closer than that.

Thomaz Bellucci absolutely destroyed Michael Llodra. He played fantastic tennis to take out the veteran Frenchman in straight sets with a score of 4, 2 and 2. Keep watching this one folks. He's going far.

Elena Dementieva v. Martic – Saw a little bit of this match to know that I hate Dementieva’s dress. For a woman with such a wonderful figure, her clothing sponsor sure does put her in some very unflattering dresses. The color is fine but the fit makes it look as if she is wearing a potato sack. She won by feeding her opponent 2 bread sticks.

Stosur v. Halep – Stosur had some trouble against the 2008 Junior FO champion who is reported to have had breast reduction surgery. I have seen Halep play during this clay court swing and I like her game. Very focused intense individual. She lost today after coming through qualies but she gave Stosur a run in the first set. Stosur won 5 and 1. Halep needs to learn to hold serve. Her second serve is a disaster waiting to happen.

Jelen Jankovic v. Alicia Molik – Molik should have stayed retired. She is being embarrassed by younger, faster, fitter players. Her game which was good in 2005 is almost obsolete now. She got a bagel and 4 for her troubles.

Philipp Petzschner was beaten into submission today by Carsten Ball. The only thing I have to say about that since I could not find a stream. He kicked me out of the suicide pool. I hope he is happy.

Lucie Safarova v. Jelena Dokic – I think it is time for Dokic to call it a career. She is fat, out of shape, and you can tell that her heart is just not in it. It is hard when you do not know anything else but she was made to look like a junior playing the pro circuit today. There were flashes of brilliance but it is no longer there. Safarova won in straights, 2 and 2.

Match of the Day

What defines a match of the day in a Grand Slam? Is it the effort exerted by both players, the excitement that is generated from the wonderful play of both players, or is it the sheer guts on display? I do not know whether I would classify the Andy Murray- Richard Gasquet match as a classic. There were moments of brilliance by both men but at the end of the day mental instability that has defined Gasquet’s career came into play. At 3-4 facing break point, Gasquet loses his serve and Murray serves for the third set. Gasquet breaks back to get the set back on serve. He has game point at 40-30, muffs an easy volley and it is deuce. After exchanging ads and break points and deuces, Murray finally breaks for the set and the rest is history.

If Gasquet had made that volley and taken the set to 5-5 all I would have loved his chances in the tie break. Murray had not been serving well and Gasquet was. Fatigue set in and Murray, as he is wont to do, ran Gasquet ragged. He took it in 5. I would not say the better man won this match, just the man who held up better in this long, drawn out 5-setter.

That is it for the day folks, but I posted a little rant in today’s post that I am going to expand on. I believe that Rafael Nadal is a champion. I believe that he is great for the game and I do believe that he and Roger Federer have taken tennis to new heights. I just wish that the powers that be in tennis saw that.

On tomorrow’s Roland Garros schedule, we have Rafael Nadal, a 4 time winner of Roland Garros, a 6 time Grand Slam champion, a former World No.1, winner of an Olympic Gold Medal and the current world No. 2 scheduled to play his opening round match on Suzanne Lenglen.

Now with all due respect to the great Suzanne Lenglen, and I am sure that she is worthy of having a court named after her, I just cannot understand why they would do something like this. Word out on twitter is that this was done to facilitate those persons who bought tickets for Lenglen were guaranteed a star player on that court. When I checked to see who the stars were on Chartier, opening proceedings is Justine Henin, a 4-time champion here, and Andy Roddick. I did a double take. Andy Roddick. I checked his opponent to see if it was a Frenchman. Nope, it was a Finn, Jarkko Nieminen. I understand that Roddick was placed on Chartier as a result of his clothing sponsor as well as his media representatives are all French. Really? Really?

This just reminds me of when the Williams Sisters for all their achievements at Wimbledon are relegated to Court 2 because the organizers wanted the pretty girls on Centre Court. Will it never end? I guess from the looks of tomorrow Order of Play, the answer is never

Face Of The Day

by Craig Hickman


Mexsports

Richard Gasquet blew a 4-0 lead in the final set, saved 5 match points overall before succumbing to a determined two-time Abierto Mexicano Telcel defending champion in Nicolas Almagro. Quite a display of claycourt prowess from both sides of the net, but the player with the bigger gonads ultimately prevailed. Best match of the day.

Singles - Second Round
[1] [WC] F Verdasco (ESP) d L Kubot (POL) 64 63
[2] F Gonzalez (CHI) d V Hanescu (ROU) 76(2) 36 61
[3] D Ferrer (ESP) d T Bellucci (BRA) 64 61
[4] J Ferrero (ESP) d I Andreev (RUS) 64 63
[6] N Almagro (ESP) d R Gasquet (FRA) 36 75 76(7)
[7] J Monaco (ARG) d J Chela (ARG) 64 76(4)
P Cuevas (URU) d [8] A Montanes (ESP) 75 63
[Q] E Schwank (ARG) d S Greul (GER) 76(4) 63

Doubles - Quarterfinals
[3] M Damm (CZE) / F Polasek (SVK) d [WC] J Elizondo (MEX) / C Ramirez (MEX) 63 62

Doubles - First Round
J Monaco (ARG) / H Zeballos (ARG) d O Hernandez (ESP) / A Montanes (ESP) 62 75
F Fognini (ITA) / P Starace (ITA) d J Isner (USA) / S Querrey (USA) 63 64

Women's Singles - First Round
(1) Venus Williams (USA) d. Kaia Kanepi (EST) 64 64
(2) Agnes Szavay (HUN) d. Renata Voracova (CZE) 75 61
(3) Gisela Dulko (ARG) d. Barbora Zahlavova Strycova (CZE) 75 61
(5) Carla Suárez Navarro (ESP) d. (Q) Catalina Castaño (COL) 61 46 62
Edina Gallovits (ROU) d. (6) Sara Errani (ITA) 64 57 64
(Q) Laura Pous Tio (ESP) d. (7) Roberta Vinci (ITA) 63 62
(8) Polona Hercog (SLO) d. Alizé Cornet (FRA) 62 64
Sharon Fichman (CAN) d. Mariya Koryttseva (UKR) 62 63

Women's Doubles - Quarterfinals
(4) Errani/Vinci (ITA/ITA) d. Mattek-Sands/Shaughnessy (USA/USA) 63 46 10-8

Women's Doubles - First Round
(1) Hlavackova/Hradecka (CZE/CZE) d. Domínguez Lino/Parra Santonja (ESP/ESP) 62 46 10-7
(4) Hercog/Zahlavova Strycova (SLO/CZE) d. Johansson/Védy (FRA/FRA) 75 61
Fichman/Washington (CAN/USA) d. Gallovits/Koryttseva (ROU/UKR) w/o (Koryttseva: low back injury)

::

Delray Beach International Tennis Championships

Singles - Second Round
L Mayer (ARG) d [6] F Mayer (GER) 64 76(4)

Singles - First Round
[7] J Blake (USA) d T Dent (USA) 61 36 63

Doubles - First Round
P Marx (GER) / I Zelenay (SVK) d [3] R Hutchins (GBR) / J Kerr (AUS) 67(8) 61 10-8

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Malaysian Open

Singles - Second Round
(7) Magdalena Rybarikova (SVK) d. (WC) Noppawan Lertcheewakarn (THA) 64 75
(6) Sybille Bammer (AUT) d. Akgul Amanmuradova (UZB) 63 60
Chanelle Scheepers (RSA) d. Tatjana Malek (GER) 46 62 63
(7) Magdalena Rybarikova (SVK) d. (WC) Noppawan Lertcheewakarn (THA) 64 75

Doubles - Quarterfinals
Rodionova/Rodionova (AUS/RUS) d. (1) Kleybanova/Yan (RUS/CHN) 63 76(5)
(3) Kudryavtseva/Voskoboeva (RUS/KAZ) d. Borwell/Kops-Jones (GBR/USA) 62 76(3) 10-7
Dzehalevich/Malek (BLR/GER) d. (4) Amanmuradova/Kustova (UZB/BLR) 75 76(5)

Down And Out In Acapulco

That's what Sam Querrey and John Isner can say about their plans to get some claycourt matches under their belt at the Albierto Mexicano Telcel before traveling to Serbia for Davis Cup in the coming weeks.

Since both have played a lot of tennis of late, winning their first doubles title as a pair in Memphis on Sunday after contesting the singles final, this comes as no surprise, the court surface notwithstanding. Still, Querrey managed to get Fernando González to a third set breaker before bowing out in the first round, while Isner couldn't even manage to win a tiebreak in his straight-set defeat to German veteran Simon Greul.

Would love to have seen Richard Gasquet defeat Carlos Moya in three close sets on Monday. Up next for the Frenchman is defending champion Nicolas Almagro. Two exquisite one-handed backhands go at it later today.

::

Singles - First Round
[1] [WC] F Verdasco (ESP) d F Fognini (ITA) 26 64 60
[2] F Gonzalez (CHI) d S Querrey (USA) 64 36 76(2)
[3] D Ferrer (ESP) d P Starace (ITA) 62 64
[4] J Ferrero (ESP) d [Q] D Junqueira (ARG) 62 63
S Greul (GER) d [5] J Isner (USA) 76(4) 75
[6] N Almagro (ESP) d D Sela (ISR) 61 76(0)
[7] J Monaco (ARG) d [Q] A Martin (ESP) 67(6) 75 62
[8] A Montanes (ESP) d D Gimeno-Traver (ESP) 75 46 62
P Cuevas (URU) d M Daniel (BRA) 16 75 76(8) - saved 3 M.P.
J Chela (ARG) d P Luczak (AUS) 60 16 60
V Hanescu (ROU) d F Gil (POR) 76(5) 63
I Andreev (RUS) d [Q] V Crivoi (ROU) 63 64
L Kubot (POL) d H Zeballos (ARG) 61 62

Doubles - First Round
[WC] S Gonzalez (MEX) / N Massu (CHI) d [4] J Brunstrom (SWE) / J Rojer (AHO) 62 67(2) 11-9
[WC] J Elizondo (MEX) / C Ramirez (MEX) d L Arnold Ker (ARG) / T Bellucci (BRA) 76(5) 46 10-8

Women's Singles - First Round
(1) Venus Williams (USA) d. Mathilde Johansson (FRA) 62 63
(3) Gisela Dulko (ARG) d. (Q) Lucie Hradecka (CZE) 61 26 61
(5) Carla Suárez Navarro (ESP) d. (Q) Greta Arn (HUN) 60 60
(7) Roberta Vinci (ITA) d. Arantxa Parra Santonja (ESP) 26 63 64
Kaia Kanepi (EST) d. (WC) Alejandra Granillo (MEX) 60 61
Edina Gallovits (ROU) d. (WC) Zarina Diyas (KAZ) 63 63
Mariya Koryttseva (UKR) d. Angelique Kerber (GER) 57 75 64
(Q) Catalina Castaño (COL) d. Klara Zakopalova (CZE) 57 64 75
(Q) Laura Pous Tio (ESP) d. Patricia Mayr (AUT) 26 62 61

Women's Doubles - First Round
(2) Uhlirova/Voracova (CZE/CZE) d. Craybas/Pelletier (USA/CAN) 76(8) 26 10-6
Errani/Vinci (ITA/ITA) d. (3) Dulko/Szavay (ARG/HUN) 63 63
Mattek-Sands/Shaughnessy (USA/USA) d. Kondratieva/Lefèvre (RUS/FRA) 62 61
Osterloh/Tatishvili (USA/GEO) d. Savchuk/Woerle (UKR/GER) 16 60 12-10
(WC) Cirstea/Cornet (ROU/FRA) d. (WC) Hermoso/Muñoz Gallegos (MEX/MEX) 61 60

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Delray Beach International Tennis Championships

Singles - First Round
[2] I Karlovic (CRO) d P Petzschner (GER) 63 76(3)
[3] B Becker (GER) d K Nishikori (JPN) 63 16 60
[4] J Chardy (FRA) d X Malisse (BEL) 63 76(5)
[6] F Mayer (GER) d [Q] N Lindahl 64 61
[7] J Blake (USA) vs T Dent (USA) 61 36 53 - to resume Wednesday
M Zverev (GER) d [8] M Russell (USA) 64 36 75
L Mayer (ARG) d [Q] K Anderson (RSA) 76(7) 76(2)
E Gulbis (LAT) d [Q] R Harrison (USA) 64 76(5)
R Haase (NED) d [Q] R Kendrick (USA) 76(4) 76(0)
M Fish (USA) d C Rochus (BEL) 57 63 33 ret. (back)
J Nieminen (FIN) d P Lorenzi (ITA) 63 64
D Brands (GER) d [WC] S Grosjean (FRA) 36 63 62
S Giraldo (COL) d [WC] V Spadea (USA) 62 63

::

Malaysian Open
Wednesday, February 24, 2010

Singles - Second Round
(1) Elena Dementieva (RUS) d. Bojana Jovanovski (SRB) 62 63
(4) Alisa Kleybanova (RUS) d. Alla Kudryavtseva (RUS) 67(4) 63 64
Anastasia Rodionova (AUS) d. Ekaterina Ivanova (RUS) 62 62
Ayumi Morita (JPN) d. (WC) Yan Zi (CHN) 62 61

Doubles - First Round
(2) Y.Chan/Zheng (TPE/CHN) d. (WC) Basuki/Sema (INA/JPN) 61 36 103
(3) Kudryavtseva/Voskoboeva (RUS/KAZ) d. Chang/Klepac (TPE/SLO) 76(5) 63
Dzehalevich/Malek (BLR/GER) d. C.Chan/Rybarikova (TPE/SVK) 75 62
Borwell/Kops-Jones (GBR/USA) d. Jurak/Marosi (CRO/HUN) 76(5) 62

Melbourne: It Just Wouldn’t be Oz…

It just wouldn’t be Oz without the customary five set bruiser, would it?

You know, the ones that threaten to venture ever closer to the six hour mark and usually take place early on in week one.

It just wouldn’t be Oz without the pain.

(PAUL CROCK/AFP/Getty Images)

It hurts Ma, it hurts real bad…

M. Youhzny d. R. Gasquet 6-7(9), 6-4, 7-6(2), 7-6(4), 6-4

Bruising (self inflicted or otherwise) and Mikail are never too far apart, and by the last two sets of this bash, I was quite unsure who I was rooting for, despite beginning the match firmly ensconced in Camp Reeshard.

Reeshard had a lot of baggage to shed from last year and a win here might have allowed him to wash the very last vestiges of ‘Pamela’ right out of his hair, nose and throat; except I think he might already have attended to the first of those, if that new shortened (somewhat thinning) hairdo he’s sporting is anything to go by.

Except Camp Reeshard is a notoriously precarious place, and brand loyalty not an especially precise science.

(PAUL CROCK/AFP/Getty Images)

Pain pain go away,

Come again another day,

Little Reeshard wants to play.

Remember that Agassi match from Flushing 06, where he eventually downed Baghdatis in five - where they were both cramping so much it was difficult to breath?

Let no digitally enhanced sports bio ever allow us to forget that this sort of thing is actually quite prevalent on tour.

By the last set and a half of this encounter, Mikail looked hamstrung, and possessed little or no upwards thrust on his serve. You could almost hear the formation of millions of micro-shreds in his muscle fibre as he cramped his way through the pain. Gasquet fared little better and looked to be coughing up the lining of his lungs in between each and every point.

Gasquet didn’t choke this one down the chute (thank goodness for that), though I do wonder if it would have been the same result had he taken greater risks with two sets already in the bag.

He who dares wins. Not always maybe, but when you’re both as crippled by pain and fatigue as these two were, it’s the smallest of risks that suddenly assume the greatest significance and often offer the greatest pay back.

Youzhny maybe shouldn’t have won this one, but it was he that was the more daring in that last set.

Difficult not to root for someone that’s prepared to smile through seven shades of pain for our amusement.

***

Federer d. Andreev 4-6, 6-2, 7-6 (7/2), 6-0

In other matches Federer downed 'Igor the Forehand' in four.

Fed lost the first set, not as you might imagine by flaking away the way he did all his openers in London last year, but by ‘going to the well’ of Igor’s forehand once too often.

If a baby Rafael Nadal hadn’t happened upon a tennis court, Igor would be the undisputed heavyweight (and most top-spun) forehand in the game. Most people appear to recognise that.

(Photo: Press Association)

In fact in Igor we have what might be the closest Federer might get to playing a right handed facsimile of Rafael Nadal.

His name should be synonymous with big forehands, for in that first set he very much ‘Igored’ Federer. To his credit, Federer defended immaculately well, but it was the wrong play altogether.

Igor’s level of play was replaced, to Fed’s relief, with something altogether more penetrable in set two and in set three he managed to choke away all of three set points despite forcing things to a breaker he eventually lost.

Fed may have steamrolled him in the fourth, but he seems to agree with my view that this one was rather too close for comfort, and not entirely through any great lapses in his own play:

"I knew it was going to be tough," said Federer. "We played five sets in New York two years ago. I thought I was playing well even in the first set and thought I would hang in there.

"It was a tough first round and I'm really, really relieved I'm through.

"It was a tough third set, I definitely got very lucky to get out of that one. That's the way it goes sometimes, all in all I'm very happy with my performance."

BBC

Elsewhere, Davy rather begrudgingly accepted the opinion of some that he might be considered a 'favourite' at this year’s open, when interviewed this morning. Yeah you know, that eponymous title which Murray was bestowed with last year.

And then this:

"Now I feel like I can beat everyone," said Davydenko, who is trying to win a first Grand Slam title. "Before no, mostly I was losing against these guys (top players), but now I can beat everyone. It's a good feeling."

BBC

Everyone Davy? Beware, you’re mighty close to convincing me you believe you can actually win this thing.

Belief in rather shorter supply for Big Rob however, losing his opener to Granollers after being 2 sets to love up.

"I don't know what happened, I just didn't play well," said the Swede. "I started terrible and finished terrible."

BBC

Sounds terrible.

I feel terrible.

Day 2: Determination

Reuters

Roger Federer is Houdini. Igor Andreev pushed and pushed and pushed but the world No. 1 never backed down. Facing several set points to go down two sets to one in his first Slam match of the decade, Raja took no risks, even with the wind at his back. He looped the ball deep and played wait and see. What he saw was a player who lost his wits and refused to seize the moment. Two forehands in the bottom of the net a few more loose errors and to a tiebreak the third set went.

From there on out, it was all Raja.

A classic choke coupled with a champion's fortitude and what do we get? Another great escape.

Don't bring no boy to do a man's job.

Enough chatter about Raja's genius. A determination deep as desire is much more impressive.

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All the other contenders on the men's side advanced without too much trouble, though Fernando Verdasco almost found himself down two sets to one against the big serving Aussie Carsten Ball.

Reuters

Young American Donald Young seems determined to prove himself. He advanced to the second round over Christophe Rochus in a match without cameras. Too bad. A ball kid peed on himself during the match, delaying play for 40 minutes. Four wins in a row Down Under. Can he win another?

Reuters

Richard Gasquet remains determined to become the biggest waste of talent of his generation. The Sydney finalist was supposed to take his second chance at a career and do something with it. Instead, he squandered a two-set-to-love lead and let Mikhail Youzhny go through. Was kind of pitiful, actually. The Frenchman really needs to grow a pair.

Reuters

Venus Williams was determined not to lose to Lucie Safarova at another Slam. She was aggressive from first point to last and never gave the poor girl a chance.


Reuters

Darkhorse Vania King squandered two match points on serve in the second set of her war with Dominika Cibulkova, fell behind 1-5 in the final set, and reeled off the last six games of the match to advance to the second round. Talk about determination. Another affair with no cameras. We'll have to imagine what transpired in final set. That section of the draw, weak to begin with, now open as a canyon.

Getty

And in a quiet story on few people's radar, qualifier Louk Sorensen has advanced to the second round. He's the first Irishman in the main draw of a Slam in 25 years and the first ever to win a Slam match.

Welcome Baghdatis

Getty

Marcos Baghdatis of Cyprus holds the winners trophy after defeating Richard Gasquet of France in the men's final at the Sydney International tennis tournament on January 16, 2010. Baghdatis won 6-4, 7-6(2).

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It's been a long time between drinks.

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Doubles - Final
[1] D Nestor (CAN) / N Zimonjic (SRB) d R Hutchins (GBR) / J Kerr (AUS) 63 76(5)

Hamburgers and French Fries...

Alright enough.

Even I know when to call a halt.

So enough on the 'American Beauty' of single handed backhands.

Enough with the fanciful and giddy kung-fu tennis fusions.

And Enough with the Andy Murray film scripts that sound like they've been written by an intern. During their lunch break.

We're returning to tennis we are.

But biding time is fun. Know that I intend to do a lot more of it. Especially when the most interesting thing to report on tour is that Gilles Simon continues to have only a slightly worse time of it than the German Open itself. That's the new no-frills deMASTERised ATP 500 name for Hamburg btw.

A tournament that's had it's new director Michael Stich mucking in at doubles this week in an effort at staving off declining interest. A tournament Simon (the #1 seed) was unceremoniously ejected from by a qualifier, a wildcard no-name somebody called Daniel Brands. So sorry Danny. Congratulations, until yesterday I hadn't heard of you. Now you're a label in my tag cloud. A label that's currently too feint to be detected. But Go Germany, nevertheless.

And that wasn't the end of it. Wawrinka, of Wimbledon single-handed shootouts under-the-roof fame: comprehensively duffed-up, I think is the phrase. Tommy Robredo, clay-court extraordinaire, supposedly out of a funk: Now he's out of the event too. And Melzer out to Uruguayan qualifier Cuevas. Remember folks, it's the depth in men's tennis is what it is.

There's still a watchable enough cast with Davydenko, Sod, Ferrer and Kohlschreiber holding fort, I suppose. But it won't stop me feeling that the event's effectively been crippled, an event that was already having trouble these last few years, with it's placement immediately prior to Roland Garros. A situation that meant the marquee names either didn't show up at all, or came hobbling in after taking part in some of those other historic battles of Rome.

Well it's been pinioned alright, and moving it to mid July, that no-mans-land of the tennis calendar seems too much like adding insult to injury.

It also goes without saying, but I'm going to anyway (even at the risk of sounding smug), that I was largely unimpressed with Simon's rise to the top. And now, as they say, those factory-fed chickens are coming home to roost. They're set to arrive over the next few months as the points he accrued over that marvelous run of last year drop off.

But Gilles is an easy target. His top ten position is after all reflective of a 52-week rankings system. It seems to be swipe-Simon season, but I'm not much more impressed with Tsonga either. Great start to the year with those titles in Jo'burg and Marseille and that quarter final appearance in Oz, but now beginning to settle into what looks like a Nalbandian-like hangover, recovery from which is only possible late into the indoor season. If that.

I haven't much time for French tennis these days. It's easy on the eye, but not on the nerves. Monfils' short-lived stay in the top ten has rightfully come to an end. One wonders if Gasquet can rebound from Dopesville. Not by the sounds of it. Not if 'Pamela' has anything to do with it.

But it's like that across the board. If anything I see Simon as a lower case Dinara, castigated for the failings of a necessarily imperfect system, that rewards every win you've had in the last year. Wins, the totality of which is against only a slice of the field anyway. Not that reflective of very much at the best of times.

The unglamorous reality is that apart from a handful of guys and girls at the very top, most every player has an inconsistent shoddy looking performance sheet. Full of potholes and pockmarks. And bunkers, to bring in those recent golfing metaphors I lovingly introduced. It's the point at which I think the rankings system really comes into its own. Seemingly custom built to mediate between a field of wildly fluctuating neurotics.

Nice to know it's good at something.

You Overwhelm Me...

I'm taking my love affair with the single handed backhand a little far I know, but you can blame 2Hander for this one. And for leaving me on the verge of tears.



This should be prescribed as therapy.

I think it's the music -- not actually that great -- but has a haunting nostalgic quality about it that hearkened back to those D&D/RPG 16-bit games of the early 90s, I wasted countless hours on when I should have been studying.

It seems to be have been compiled by someone intent on showing Roddick up, though Gasquet's pass off of Nadal's smash right at the very end is my personal fave. Truly scrummy.

I could fall asleep to this in the way some do to those noises of the sea crashing into rocks.

In fact I might just do that now...

Time is Served...

ITF Press Release

Decision in the case of Richard Gasquet

London, England, 15 Jul 2009 - The International Tennis Federation announced today that an independent Anti-Doping Tribunal convened under the 2009 Tennis Anti-Doping Programme has found that Richard Gasquet, a 23-year-old French tennis player, has committed a Doping Offence. Following a two-day hearing in July 2009, an independent Anti-Doping Tribunal found that a sample provided by Mr Gasquet on 28 March 2009 at the ATP event in Miami, USA, had tested positive for benzoylecgonine, a metabolite of cocaine. Cocaine is a substance that is banned In-Competition under WADA’s 2009 List of Prohibited Substances, and is therefore also prohibited under the Tennis Anti-Doping Programme on the same basis. The Tribunal rejected the suggestion made by Mr Gasquet that, by virtue of his withdrawal prior to playing a match in the Miami event, the sample provided by him on 28 March should be treated as having been collected Out-of-Competition. In that regard, it upheld the applicability, and the legality, of Article F.4 of the Programme, which provides that a player who withdraws from an event may be target-tested and that such test is to be treated as an In-Competition test, even if the player withdraws before playing a match. The Tribunal therefore found that Mr Gasquet had committed a Doping Offence under Article C.1 of the Programme (presence of a Prohibited Substance in player’s sample). With regard to sanction, the Tribunal accepted Mr Gasquet’s plea of No Significant Fault or Negligence, on the basis that he was able to demonstrate on the balance of probabilities how the cocaine entered his system (through inadvertent contamination in a nightclub the night before his scheduled match), and that, while he was at fault in exposing himself to the risk of such contamination, that fault was not significant. It further ruled that, in the exceptional and “probably unique” circumstances of the case, it would be unjust and disproportionate to impose a 12-month sanction on Mr Gasquet. Instead it ruled that Mr Gasquet be suspended from participation for a period of two months and 15 days, commencing on 1 May 2009, and thus ending at 08:00 GMT on 15 July 2009. It also ruled that his results, ranking points and prize money from events subsequent to Miami should remain undisturbed. (Source: ITF)

Well thank goodness for that.

You'll not find a word spoken in support of recreational drugs here, but only a fool would lump him together with the steroid users.

Having said that, I do believe having players 'partying' brings the sport into disrepute, so I can't say I'm unhappy about how stringent the authorities were.

I'm very much in the camp of those who'd like to see him live up to his potential (especially as I can't get enough of his backhand!); he seems to have enough trouble with that without getting embroiled in drugs scandals.

He strikes me as more of a naive kid caught dabbling, well and truly out of his depth - kinda like when Tim Henman, perhaps in answer to his critics, expressed his anger for the first time out on court, by thrashing a ball in anger....which promptly ended up on a ball girl's head, giving Henman the dubious honour of being the first ever player to be disqualified from Wimbledon.

Missing out two Slam's is probably punishment enough.

What interests me though is, how this squares up with the curious case of Martina Hingis.

She chose not to defend her two year ban, also for the use of recreational drugs.

I'm curious, what makes Gasquet's position any different from hers?

All's well that ends well, and thankfully common sense has prevailed in this instance; so to commemorate his return to tour, can we get an exho match arranged between Stanislas and himself dubbed 'Battle of the Backhands'?

"The 'single-handed' argument in favour of Gasquet's return to tour"

Both players will be required to return every shot with their backhand, even if that means having to run around shots fired to their forehand. Every ball must be taken early, and fiercely struck, though extra points will be awarded for prolonging rallies.