“He’s a very good player, I think he has one of the best returns of any player I have played.”
-- Nadal on James Blake after defeating him in Beijing
(Yahoo! Sports)
What you mean that thing he does, where he uses all your pace to flat ball a deep return back at your feet, before you’ve even completed your service motion?
Glad to hear he gave Rafa trouble and then some. Though I do fear that change in his coaching set up might be two years too late.
(FREDERIC BROWN/AFP/Getty Images)
Getty captioned this image “Marat Safin jubilates after beating Fernando Gonzales of Chile…”.
It’s the kind of jubilance I normally express at the thought of paying off my utility bills at the end of the month.
Perhaps the right approach given the circumstances. I actually can’t remember the last time he won back to back matches; certainly not against someone as illustrious as Gonzo. Though it does still feel as if he’s itching to leave the ATP party.
That said, a win over Rafa wouldn’t be the most improbable result in the world right now. Particularly if he is in some sort of groove. Or am I now being too jubilant?
This could also prove to be a very interesting week for Robin Soderling, who has much to gain from winning an event like this.
I know Nando-Djoko is the other big marquee match, but I’m rather liking (and preferring) Big Rob’s chances in this half of the draw, particularly as neither of those other two have been that inspired over the last few months.
I know he’s not everyone’s cup of tea, but I haven’t changed my opinion on his flat groundies. It would be positively spiffing, to see him qualify for London, particularly after what happened in RG.
It wasn’t my intention to follow Tokyo this week, but I’ve just realised that with Delpo’s early exit, the remaining top three seeds are all French. Scratch that. Gilles was ‘upset’ by Mikhail Youzhny. (Nice to see him pocketing a win again)
So here’s the deal.
What we have here is a Fedal-less event, where the top seed -- the US Open Champion -- has gone out in the opening round. Of the remaining contenders, I can only see one Stan Wawrinka causing any vexation.
I’m not saying all is forgiven, but a win here for La Monf or Jo-Willy might just lead me to reconsider my troubled relationship with French tennis.
Consider all your French bridges burnt however, if you return with another loss.
The ‘Pre-Safinite Sisterhood’ (also known as the ‘HenKimPovites’) was a Revivalist movement with it’s roots at the turn of the Millennium. All three members (Henin, Kimmie and Pova) of this self-styled sisterhood took a leave of absence at the height of their very considerable powers through causes relating to burn out and injury.
They staged a return to professional tennis, perhaps in reaction to the perceived ‘mechanisation’ of the sport that had gathered momentum during their absence, and with a view to restoring some much needed credibility to the the battle for the number one ranking, and to the WTA in particular: an organisation that had become largely overrun by gangly, inflexible and significantly less creative baseliners , neither of whom seemed to possess the stomach for the #1 ranking – the battle for which was now taking place in an atmosphere of decreased and at times embittered competition.
Their period out of the game also saw the rise of one Dinara Safina to the #1 spot, whose imposing , if slightly one dimensional brand of tennis, quickly became an object of ridicule for those that sought a return to the old ways; because the movement envisioned such a return, and because their distaste extended only to the long line of similarly styled ‘Safinites’, rather than to Safina herself, they were at first known informally only as the ‘Pre-Safinites’. Over time, the group became more formally known by the full name in use today.
I actually like it. I’m not saying it’s the best combo I’ve ever seen.
But it’s daring without being garish.
It’s a subtle nod to retro golfing wear.
And it’s quite unlike anything he’s tried before.
“It says here my contract only covers yellow/black…”
Dinara ousted once again.
And with it goes that millstone of a #1 ranking.
(li xin/AFP/Getty Images)
Oh and here’s some trivia for you before we move on.
Zhang (ranked #226) is now the lowest ranked player in WTA history to defeat a reigning world #1, a record previously held by Julie Coin with her defeat of Ana Ivanovic, and a record rather too neatly woven into the fabric of this tragedy.
How’s that for a career milestone on your way out?
And what of the woman that replaced her?
"Obviously I'm happy to be there because I've worked so hard this year to get there, I think I've earned it," said Williams.
(BBC)
You don’t sound too convinced. I wasn’t much convinced by her slightly muted post match celebrations either. After a season of soap-operatic trash talk, I was almost expecting her to burst open the bubbly on court. A likely result of that US Open cloud that continues to hang over her maybe?
The only other match I caught today saw Jelena Jankovic ceding a winning position of a break and a set up, to Peng Shuai eventually losing it 6-4, 5-7, 2-6. It was the wrist. Again.
But I couldn’t, for the life of me, work out what she was doing here in the first place. Or why she didn’t pull out earlier.
It won her a lot of fans. Apparently.
The Vika Shaza clash, arguably the match up of the day, wasn’t broadcast. I gather Shaza mounted an epic comeback from 5-2 down in the second to win it 6-3 6-7 7-5. It sounded like they made a lot noise (from the adjacent court Serena was playing on), but though I didn’t see it, I kinda saw this result coming.
Vika has lost far too much of her belief since that Wimbledon quarter final, and that’s not a good place to be in for her. Especially if you’re considering playing a tennis match against Miss Brute-Belief-Force herself.
“The match isn’t over until we shake hands,” said the Russian. “I realised that I didn’t want to be going home. I just went forward and I kept being aggressive and stayed positive and that gets you a long way.”
(Yahoo! Sports)
I can only live in hope for the day that I’m able to will away all of the worst life throws at me, by simply deciding I’m not ready to go home just yet.
I’ve been a little neglectful of the gents this past week. But neither Bangkok, nor the ATP events in Beijing or Tokyo are being broadcast.
Meh. I have to confess I’m not fully engaged in this Asian swing. Maybe Shanghai will correct that.
Don’t expect me to go on the hunt for a live stream.
“All” I’ve missed so far are the early exits of A-Rod and Delpo.
***
* The ‘Pre-Safinite Sisterhood’ (also known as the ‘HenKimPovites’) was a Revivalist movement with it’s roots at the turn of the Millennium. All three members (Henin, Kimmie and Pova) of this self-styled sisterhood took a leave of absence at the height of their very considerable powers through causes relating to burn out and injury.
They returned, perhaps in reaction to the perceived ‘mechanisation’ of tennis that had gathered momentum during their absence, and with a view to restoring some much needed credibility to the WTA (and the battle for the number one ranking in particular). An organisation that had become largely overrun by gangly, inflexible and significantly less creative baseliners , neither of whom seemed to possess the stomach for the #1 ranking - a battle taking place in an atmosphere of decreased and at times embittered competition.
Their period out of the game also saw the rise of one Dinara Safina to the #1 spot, whose imposing , if slightly one dimensional brand of tennis, quickly became an object of ridicule for those that sought a return to the old ways; because the movement envisioned such a return, and because their distaste extended only to the long line of similarly styled ‘Safinites’, and not to Safina herself, they were at first known informally only as the ‘Pre-Safinites’. Over time, the group became more formally known by the full name in use today.
(SAEED KHAN/AFP/Getty Images)
Been something of a mixed season for both these gents.
After returning from that foot injury earlier this year, and with this now being his third title of the year, Niki has just about completed reprising his former role of cleaning up in the absence of Rafa and Roger. Very much the janitor of the top ten, just like the good ol’days. Though I miss Davydork already. Brighten up man.
Fernando’s year has been straddling that fine line between disappointment and cautious optimism. More Verdant than Verdasco you might say, and not at all similar to the unassailable figure that opened up his account back in Melbourne with arguably the finest Slam Semi we’ve seen this year, and acquiring virginal top ten standing in the process. Unfamiliar territory, though the future looked so very bright.
If he’d continued in that vein, he would probably have been around #5 in the world by now. That he’s managed to lengthen (and strengthen) his stay there is no less commendable though, and in stark contrast to the way Gael more or less, peek-a-booed his way in and back out once again
You might think that with his hobbling body showing unmistakable signs of end-of-season breakdown, that now would be a good time to pull the plug on a year that hasn’t been half bad.
Except there’s this small matter of the year end championships to consider.
Of the remaining three places up for grabs, one almost certainly belongs to A-Rod who’s nearly 1400 points ahead of Jo-Will, his nearest competition. But aside from that, with two Masters and four 500 events to go, little can really be said; and though Jo-Willy, Niki-Dorko and Nando are within kissing distance of one another, the remaining two positions might well end up being taken by Soderling or this man.
Gilles picked up the title in Bangkok yesterday, and with it brought an end to a drought lasting over a year. I’d be chuffed too.
I’d say woohoo or something equally sanguine, except I don’t deal in French wares any more. And the fact that Troicki bounced out Jo-Will 1-6, 6-2, 6-3 in the semis to make his runners-up appearance here only strengthens my resolve against the dark and somewhat charismatic forces of Style over Substance.
I don’t take too kindly to being hung out to dry over and over again; and dealing with the seemingly implacable disconnect between talent and form, that seems to grow even larger in the presence of charisma. You’ve Marat and Sveta to thank for that.
"When you get an injury, you don't know if you can play or not," Jankovic said. "My wrist and whole arm is inflamed and swollen and I don't know when I will recover."
(ESPN)
Ouch. I don’t normally look favourably upon retirements in final rounds, but JJ came out of that match with what at one point, looked like Popeye’s right arm.
I don’t think playing Beijing would be the smartest move in the world right now. But with Jelena only being a mere 190 points behind Vera in the Race to the SEC, and with Jelena being Jelena, the lure might prove irresistible.
(Photo: AP)
That said the seven games these two managed to play seemed designed to impress, and despite the anti-climax, went some way to limiting the damage done in the opening few days of the event.
It also further strengthened my belief that Jelena has this time found her way to the correct comeback trail, after a season littered with false starts. Better late than never. Nothings for certain, but it could have been so very different if the wrist had held up.
"I really had a good feeling that I was going to get through this match," said the fifth-seeded Sharapova.
"I believed in myself ... even when I was down in the tiebreaker I knew I could do it and I did."
(ABC News)
That’s what Masha had to say after winning her maiden title at this very venue, six years ago. How very little has changed in her second career.
