So the biggest tennis news of the weekend is the U.S. rout of Switzerland (read: Roger Federer) in Davis Cup action. This one's surprising for a couple reasons, mainly that it was played on clay. That's some clay when Americans can play on it. That's a strategy fail right there.
And then there's this tidbit. After their doubles loss, Federer said all the right things about how they fought the good fight, the Americans were better that day, blah, blah, blah. But apparently, the French version of the presser was much more interesting. According to the Associated Press, Federer said he played well in dubs, but that partner Stan Wawrinka didn't. That's a nice thing to say about the guy you won the OLYMPICS with. Guess he's some sort of hack. Fed also faulted Stan for not winning his match against Mardy Fish in singles, because the loss failed to put pressure on the U.S. Interesting theory, but last I checked, the tie score was 5-0. One might deduce that Federer's loss to John Isner might also have failed to put pressure on the U.S. What, it's Wawrinka's fault that Federer lost, too?
Actually, I like seeing Federer like this. He's a sore loser, and that's what makes a great champion, not all that business about losing gracefully. The man hates to lose, and as long as he reacts so adversely to loss, his head's in the game, and as long as his head's in the game, he'll be around contesting for majors and the like. Still, though, Fed, that was cold blooded.
Monday, February 13, 2012
Sunday, February 05, 2012
If you're snoozing, you're watching Fed Cup ...
Watching the Serena Williams-Anastasiya Yakimova match now. Asking myself why. Well, I have already picked all the lint out of my belly button. And the paint in the living room is dry, although it was fun watching that. So here I sit.
Did anyone else know the U.S. wasn't in the World Group anymore? I guess I should be ashamed of myself, not being able to (or having the interest to) keep up with this "format" they insist upon. Sure, I could go into my specific issues about the Fed and Davis format again. Or I could just point you here and here. Does anyone else have another idea about the world competition formats?
Here's another issue I don't believe I've addressed. The Fed Cup needs to get with the times. The doubles should not be the fifth rubber. It should be the third, just like in Davis Cup. It needs to be in the mix. Now it's great when you actually play a tie that goes to 2-2 and it comes down to doubles. But how often does that happen? Doubles should count for something in every tie. The International Tennis Federation is also ignoring that tennis viewers want to see doubles because most of them play doubles. Duh! And we don't want to see Sloane Stephens playing doubles after the match has been decided and everyone else doesn't care. We want to the best possible doubles match on the court. That rarely happens when it's the fifth match.
My goodness, is this match ugly. I think it's fair to say that Serena is no longer in her heyday. Now it's just "Hey!" As in, hey, what they hey was that?!" Now, I'm starting to ask myself if Serena deserves a spot on the Olympic team. Which begs the question: If you take the Williams sisters out of the picture, what's the best Olympic team the U.S. can send, rankings be damned? I suppose I will accept sentimental answers such as Melanie Oudin, but keep in mind, I'm looking for the team that could do some damage.
OK, so a few games back, Serena comes to the changeover chair and smashes her racquet. You could literally see Mary Joe Fernandez jump a foot off the bench. So after Serena lost the first set, Fernandez, wisely, is not sitting there. Now, who says she's not a good and smart captain? Oh, I did? Kidding!
Did anyone else know the U.S. wasn't in the World Group anymore? I guess I should be ashamed of myself, not being able to (or having the interest to) keep up with this "format" they insist upon. Sure, I could go into my specific issues about the Fed and Davis format again. Or I could just point you here and here. Does anyone else have another idea about the world competition formats?
Here's another issue I don't believe I've addressed. The Fed Cup needs to get with the times. The doubles should not be the fifth rubber. It should be the third, just like in Davis Cup. It needs to be in the mix. Now it's great when you actually play a tie that goes to 2-2 and it comes down to doubles. But how often does that happen? Doubles should count for something in every tie. The International Tennis Federation is also ignoring that tennis viewers want to see doubles because most of them play doubles. Duh! And we don't want to see Sloane Stephens playing doubles after the match has been decided and everyone else doesn't care. We want to the best possible doubles match on the court. That rarely happens when it's the fifth match.
My goodness, is this match ugly. I think it's fair to say that Serena is no longer in her heyday. Now it's just "Hey!" As in, hey, what they hey was that?!" Now, I'm starting to ask myself if Serena deserves a spot on the Olympic team. Which begs the question: If you take the Williams sisters out of the picture, what's the best Olympic team the U.S. can send, rankings be damned? I suppose I will accept sentimental answers such as Melanie Oudin, but keep in mind, I'm looking for the team that could do some damage.
OK, so a few games back, Serena comes to the changeover chair and smashes her racquet. You could literally see Mary Joe Fernandez jump a foot off the bench. So after Serena lost the first set, Fernandez, wisely, is not sitting there. Now, who says she's not a good and smart captain? Oh, I did? Kidding!
Tuesday, January 31, 2012
Closing thoughts
There's a Bible verse that's a favorite of mine. It goes something like this: "Work out your salvation with fear and trembling."
There is no tennis player that embodies this more than Rafael Nadal. The man plays every point as though it is his last, as though he is terrified of defeat. But as hard as he worked at the Australian Open men's final, he came up short against Novak Djokovic. Again.
No one would doubt Nadal's status as a champion, not even after that loss. He carried himself impeccably, although his disappointment was obvious. Still, at some point, he and his team will go to the tape. They will observe that at the end of the match, Rafa spent an awful amount of time watching deep balls land before he even prepared himself to hit them. He was hoping they would go out. He was too careful with some shots, waiting for Djokovic to mess up. They'll find that Nadal didn't take that match and so he lost it.
Now, about Djokovic. He is a champion. He will probably go down as one of the best of his generation, and if he keeps it up, one of the best ever. But he is not Roger Federer or Rafael Nadal. Sorry, he's not. Would Federer or Nadal have collapsed to the court -- during a match -- acting for all the world as though he couldn't take it anymore, only to jump back up and run like a deer and hit winners all over the place? No. There's no doubt Djokovic was struggling physically, but he purposely made a show of making sure his opponent saw his antics in an attempt to throw him off. There's nothing illegal about it -- he's got every right. But it's why he's not Federer or Nadal.
Meanwhile, Victoria Azarenka won her first Grand Slam title by beating Maria Sharapova like she stole something. I once had a phone interview with Azarenka, when she played in a tournament here in the Pittsburgh area. It took about 12 minutes longer than the final. This, incidentally, is why I don't get up at 3 a.m. to watch a women's tennis match. There is no matchup today on the women's side (not one -- I defy you to give me one!) that is guaranteed the same quality competition as Nadal-Djokovic, or Nadal-Federer or Murray-Djokovic or Djokovic-Federer. Not to take anything from Azarenka or Petra Kvitova or Sharapova or Samantha Stosur, but women's tennis is weak right now. And I think we can all stop saying, "Wait until Serena gets back." She's back and it makes no difference.
There is no tennis player that embodies this more than Rafael Nadal. The man plays every point as though it is his last, as though he is terrified of defeat. But as hard as he worked at the Australian Open men's final, he came up short against Novak Djokovic. Again.
No one would doubt Nadal's status as a champion, not even after that loss. He carried himself impeccably, although his disappointment was obvious. Still, at some point, he and his team will go to the tape. They will observe that at the end of the match, Rafa spent an awful amount of time watching deep balls land before he even prepared himself to hit them. He was hoping they would go out. He was too careful with some shots, waiting for Djokovic to mess up. They'll find that Nadal didn't take that match and so he lost it.
Now, about Djokovic. He is a champion. He will probably go down as one of the best of his generation, and if he keeps it up, one of the best ever. But he is not Roger Federer or Rafael Nadal. Sorry, he's not. Would Federer or Nadal have collapsed to the court -- during a match -- acting for all the world as though he couldn't take it anymore, only to jump back up and run like a deer and hit winners all over the place? No. There's no doubt Djokovic was struggling physically, but he purposely made a show of making sure his opponent saw his antics in an attempt to throw him off. There's nothing illegal about it -- he's got every right. But it's why he's not Federer or Nadal.
Meanwhile, Victoria Azarenka won her first Grand Slam title by beating Maria Sharapova like she stole something. I once had a phone interview with Azarenka, when she played in a tournament here in the Pittsburgh area. It took about 12 minutes longer than the final. This, incidentally, is why I don't get up at 3 a.m. to watch a women's tennis match. There is no matchup today on the women's side (not one -- I defy you to give me one!) that is guaranteed the same quality competition as Nadal-Djokovic, or Nadal-Federer or Murray-Djokovic or Djokovic-Federer. Not to take anything from Azarenka or Petra Kvitova or Sharapova or Samantha Stosur, but women's tennis is weak right now. And I think we can all stop saying, "Wait until Serena gets back." She's back and it makes no difference.
Sunday, January 22, 2012
AO: More ramblings from my couch
... Tomas Berdych is a pu--, er, pansy (for the family readers. See what I do for people who might not exist?). What is he, 6 foot 8, and a little tennis ball to his arm hurts his feelings? Geez. Here's hoping he never plays the doubles.
... Victoria Azarenka should stop doing the No. 1 symbol after her matches until she can serve out a match in a game with fewer than 12 deuces.
... Victoria Azarenka should stop doing the No. 1 symbol after her matches until she can serve out a match in a game with fewer than 12 deuces.
Thursday, January 19, 2012
AO: Observations from my couch
1. Marcos Baghdatis was fined $600 for smashing four racquets during his match against Stan Wawrinka. Good. It's about time the powers that be paid more attention to racquet rights.
2. I had David Nalbandian beating Sam Querrey in my bracket, and if it weren't for that umpire pulling rank on a suspect overrule (and subsequent refusal to let Nalbandian challenge the call), it might have been right. He got screwed! Two questions arise here: (a) Do you think that umpires sometimes just don't like certain players and it affects the decisions they make? (b) If one of the Big Four had waited that long to make a challenge -- which, by the way, was, what, a few seconds? -- would the same thing have happened? Heck, I've seen players walk up to a line, walk over to their posse, consult, stop at their chair for a drink of water, stretch, then ask for a challenge. What we need is a specific amount of time to challenge a call, and it would need to be different for singles and doubles. That's it!
3. Sam Stosur. *face palm*
2. I had David Nalbandian beating Sam Querrey in my bracket, and if it weren't for that umpire pulling rank on a suspect overrule (and subsequent refusal to let Nalbandian challenge the call), it might have been right. He got screwed! Two questions arise here: (a) Do you think that umpires sometimes just don't like certain players and it affects the decisions they make? (b) If one of the Big Four had waited that long to make a challenge -- which, by the way, was, what, a few seconds? -- would the same thing have happened? Heck, I've seen players walk up to a line, walk over to their posse, consult, stop at their chair for a drink of water, stretch, then ask for a challenge. What we need is a specific amount of time to challenge a call, and it would need to be different for singles and doubles. That's it!
3. Sam Stosur. *face palm*
Saturday, January 14, 2012
Who's in?
Here are my Racquet Bracket picks. We all know I'm right, but I wouldn't discourage anyone from trying to top me ...
Preview coming soon.
Hi,
I submitted my picks into the Naf's Racquet Bracket :: Australian Open ATP contest.
Check out my picks here: http://www.tourneytopia.com/RacquetBracketAussieOpenATP/NafTWA/pool/EntryPicks.aspx?EntryId=264313&InviteLink=true.
You should get in this contest. Submit your picks here: http://www.tourneytopia.com/RacquetBracketAussieOpenATP/NafTWA/default.aspx. The deadline to enter is 1/15/2012 7:00 PM Eastern Standard Time.
Naf V
Hi,
I submitted my picks into the Racquet Bracket :: Australian Open WTA contest.
Check out my picks here: http://www.tourneytopia.com/RacquetBracketAussieOpenWTA/AussieOpenWTA/pool/EntryPicks.aspx?EntryId=265676&InviteLink=true.
You should get in this contest. Submit your picks here: http://www.tourneytopia.com/RacquetBracketAussieOpenWTA/AussieOpenWTA/default.aspx. The deadline to enter is 1/15/2012 7:00 PM Eastern Standard Time.
Naf
Preview coming soon.
Hi,
I submitted my picks into the Naf's Racquet Bracket :: Australian Open ATP contest.
Check out my picks here: http://www.tourneytopia.com/RacquetBracketAussieOpenATP/NafTWA/pool/EntryPicks.aspx?EntryId=264313&InviteLink=true.
You should get in this contest. Submit your picks here: http://www.tourneytopia.com/RacquetBracketAussieOpenATP/NafTWA/default.aspx. The deadline to enter is 1/15/2012 7:00 PM Eastern Standard Time.
Naf V
Hi,
I submitted my picks into the Racquet Bracket :: Australian Open WTA contest.
Check out my picks here: http://www.tourneytopia.com/RacquetBracketAussieOpenWTA/AussieOpenWTA/pool/EntryPicks.aspx?EntryId=265676&InviteLink=true.
You should get in this contest. Submit your picks here: http://www.tourneytopia.com/RacquetBracketAussieOpenWTA/AussieOpenWTA/default.aspx. The deadline to enter is 1/15/2012 7:00 PM Eastern Standard Time.
Naf
Friday, January 13, 2012
Another TWA bright idea!
Hey, who wants to take me on in a Racquet Bracket faceoff on the Tennis Channel's website? Any ideas for a prize for the winner? That won't cost me a lot of money?? Anyone interested??? Any reason I keep adding question marks????
Details coming ...
Details coming ...
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