Wish List

Now that the brackets have been analyzed to death and the predictions have been made, let me show you what I would like to happen at the Australian Open 2012:

REPEAT!!!

suffering from withdrawals

A new year means a new tennis season and already several top players are hobbled by injuries and illness. Roger Federer has a wonky back, Kim Clijsters’ hip is acting up, Serena Williams has sprained her ankle, Rafael Nadal has a sore shoulder and Sabine Lisciki has an injured tummy. 

The Australian Open hasn’t even started yet. Once it begins, we’ll be missing Marin Cilic (knee), Venus Williams (auto-immune disorder), Robin Soderling (Mono) and Tommy Robredo (groin). Those are the ones we know about right now. Just this week, Svetlana Kuznetsova, Amer Delic, Flavia Penetta, and Maria Jose Martinez Sanchez have all had to retire from their matches due to injuries and illness.

It’s worrying. First, because it’s so early in the year and some of the biggest stars have been transformed into the Walking Wounded. Second, it’s a situation that has been written about over and over again. The thing is, what’s going to be done about it? Even former players like Brad Gilbert are speaking out about the need to change the schedule to allow extended breaks during the season. Will their appeals fall on deaf ears once again or will we have to look forward to more withdrawals?

Let’s face it. All of these injuries hurt the sport. Sponsor dollars depend on top players being in tip top shape. It can’t look good when the major fashion accessory at a Slam is healing tape. The time for discussion is over. If the players want things to change, they are the ones that are going to have to do it. If they decide to take some action, they will have my full support.

the more things change, the more they stay the same

The Aussie Open is over and two new champions have been crowned. Kim Clijsters won the women’s title over Li Na of China and Novak Djovokic won the men’s over Andy Murray. For the women, it was a chance to see two first time finalists battle it out. Serena Williams, the five time champion was out with an injury and the tennis press was literally drooling to crown a new diva. They found an unlikely one in Li Na. She captivated audiences with her wit, her straightforwardness, and her powerful tennis. There was nothing contrived about her press conferences and her easy demeanor brooked no hint of a desperation to be liked. (*Side eyes a certain #1 player). By the time the ladies final arrived, pundits and fans alike were giving her more than a half a chance to win; thus becoming the first Chinese player ever to win a major title.

It didn’t happen though. She faced a player who had played in eight grand slam finals. After losing the first set, Clijsters tapped into her storage of experience and started to confound Li Na with spin and off pace shots. By the third set, Li Na was clearly flustered. She started to complain about the crowd noise, the calls, the photographers, the crowd, the calls, and the crowd again. She sprayed shots all over the court and dropped her serve like bad fashion. Clijsters capitalized on the mistakes and trotted through the set to win the title. It just goes to show that experience usually tends to trump guile. Congrats to Li Na. She’s won a new fan in me. I hope to see her compete for more major titles this year.

As for the men, two familiar faces graced the final this year. 2008 winner Djokovic had  been playing like a possessed man throughout the tournament. Murray, the 2010 finalist had been playing well too. I said before the start of the match that the intangibles were going to be the biggest factor in the match. It was going to go down to who could handle the pressure better. By the time Djokovic won a bruising 39 shot rally, it was apparent. Murray’s spirit and game wilted along with the hopes of the entire United Kingdom. Nole kept applying the pressure and triumphed in three sets. It was a mature performance from a player who went through some rather painful personal growth spurts in the public eye.

Something to note: Murray hasn’t even won a set in three finals. The drumbeat of “mental fragility” is going to sound even louder now after this last drubbing. It’s not as if I can ignore anymore either. What else can explain Murray’s dismal performances in major finals? It could be true that with the way Novak was playing, it would have been impossible for anyone to beat him, but to not even win a set is very confusing. I’m not entirely heartless. I can understand how hard it is to play when an entire nation tends to remind you every time that you step out on court that they haven’t had a Grand Slam winner in 60 odd years. It must be tough to try to make your mark in the age of Federer and Nadal.  But two of your contemporaries have won major titles while facing just as much pressure as you have. I. Do. Not. Get. Murray is extremely talented. He has every shot on the book and he has the ability to make his tennis look effortless. He’s a tactician with the uncanny ability to make his opponent look extremely uncomfortable on the court. Yet, he’s considered a lightweight in the guts department. I’m not writing him off . Ivan Lendl played in eight finals before he won so Murray has five more tries before I completely give up.

As for Novak, he’s occupying some rarefied air. He’s managed to break the FeDal title stranglehold twice. He did it the old-fashioned t way too, with hard work and mental toughness. The most traditional ways to win. Good job.

No Slam, No Cry.

The quest is over. It was derailed by injury. So for now, history will remain as it is. Some things did change though. Many more people became admirers of Rafael Nadal because of his classy and graceful post match press conference. Although he struggled to compose himself, he gave no excuses nor did he lament his fate. He accepted the hand that was dealt to him and credited his opponent for a match well played.

 

“If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster, and treat those two impostors just the same.”–Rudyard Kipling

Words and Numbers

The first week of the Australian Open is over and there are several words/ terms that come to mind when describing how it went:

• 16-14 -The score in the third set of the most epic battle in women’s tennis in quite some time. Svetlana Kuznetsova and Francesca Schiavone fought for over 3 hours in that set. Kuznetsova had 6 match points, but couldn’t put away the crafty Italian. This was no Isner/Mahut redux. The rallies were fierce and both women were at their peak. It’s only the 3rd week in the new year, but this match will definitely be on the “Best Matches of The Year” list at the end of the season.
• Psosas-The part of Venus’ body that was injured during her 2nd round match. She battled back and won but had to retire in the next round. Tennis fans were checking Dictionary.com in droves to figure out if they had a Psosas too.
• Wonderland Dress-The name of the monstrosity that Venus Williams wore during her 2nd round match. Funny though, most folks were calling it, “Nightmare”.
• Busted Racket- No, that’s not the name of the Yahoo tennis blog, it’s what happened to Agnieska Radwanska’s racket during her match with Kimiko Date. During the previous point, Radwanska banged her Babolat racket on the court in frustration. During the next game when trying to return a shot, the head literally exploded and flew off.  Her dumbfounded expression was the favorite of silly .gif makers for days.
• Rafa Slam-A term much bandied about but successfully bunted away by Rafael Nadal. If he wins the Aussie Open, he’ll be the first man in over 40 years to hold all Major titles consecutively. Nadal assured the world that he’s not obsessed with accomplishing that feat and politely let the press know that they needed to, “Get off that”- Not that they are listening though.
• 6-0- The 5th set  score of the match between Fernando Verdasco and Janko Tipsarevic. Verdasco was down and out in the 3rd set, but thanks to one of the most monumental chokes of recent memory by Tipsarevic, he was able to battle back. 3 match points bungled and Janko was nothing more than a ghost in that final set. No doubt, that loss will haunt him for a very long time.
• Boobs- Aussie commentator Todd Woodbridge just couldn’t help himself when he sent a text to fellow Aussie player Renee Stubbs which included his opinion of Kim Clijster’s recent demeanor. He suggested that she was pregnant because she,” looked grumpy and her boobs were bigger”. Stubbs of course, being a good friend (and an instigator), showed Kim the text and she called Todd out on it during her post match interview with him. It was 2 parts funny and 1 parts awkward, but made for some compelling viewing. The lesson from this: Be careful what you text, and don’t show anything to Renee Stubbs.
• Dead spots-The world is fully up on the news about the massive floods in Australia. The city of Melbourne has been fortunate so far in that it hasn’t received the brunt of the rains, unlike Queensland. It has had it’s share and as a result, the extra water has wrecked a tiny bit of havoc on the courts. Several dead spots have appeared on the show courts because the seepage into the Plexicushion used to cover the courts. Bubbles were formed and viola, balls dying on the court like Arkansas Starlings. Luckily, Aussies know how to use drills too and the problems were fixed.
• 18- The number of five set matches that Mardy Fish lost before triumphing in his 1st rd match at the Australian. An awesome feat, and in my opinion was partly due to his new love affair with full sized socks. Unfortunately, the good times were short lived, Mardy was bounced in the next round and is reported to be suffering from a thyroid problem.

Can’t wait to see what next week brings.