Monday Net Post
By TW Contributing Editor, Ed McGrogan
Last Week's Tournaments
Masters Series Hamburg (ATP - Clay - Hamburg, Germany)
Singles Final: Rafael Nadal def. Roger Federer 7-5, 6-7, 6-3.
- Singles Semifinal: Roger Federer def. Andreas Seppi 6-3, 6-1.
- Singles Semifinal: Rafael Nadal def. Novak Djokovic 7-5, 2-6, 6-2.Singles Bracket
Doubles Final: Daniel Nestor/Nenad Zimonjic def. Bob Bryan/Mike Bryan 6-4, 5-7, 10-8.
- Doubles Semifinal: Bob Bryan/Mike Bryan def. James Blake/Mardy Fish 6-2, 4-6, 10-7.
- Doubles Semifinal: Daniel Nestor/Nenad Zimonjic def. Leander Paes/Tommy Robredo 6-3, 3-6, 10-2.Doubles Bracket
Internazionali BNL D'Italia (WTA - Clay - Rome, Italy)
Singles Final: Jelena Jankovic def. Alize Cornet 6-2, 6-2.
- Singles Semifinal: Alize Cornet def. Anna Chakvetadze 3-6, 6-4, 6-3.
- Singles Semifinal: Jelena Jankovic def. Maria Sharapova (walkover).Doubles Final: Yung-Jan Chan/Chia-Jung Chuang def. Iveta Benesova/Janette Husarova 7-6, 6-3.
- Doubles Semifinal: Yung-Jan Chan/Chia-Jung Chuang def. Shuai Peng/Tiantian Sun 6-4, 6-2.
- Doubles Semifinal: Iveta Benesova/Janette Husarova def. Klaudia Jans/Mervana Jugic-Salkic 5-7, 6-3, 10-2.Singles & Doubles Bracket
******By the Letter
T**...ennis college casualties: men's progams at Arizona State and Arkansas (Little Rock).
E...SPN has officially acquired the broadcast rights to the U.S. Open, starting in 2009, after signing a six-year deal. USA Network's 25th anniversary of Open coverage this year will certainly be bittersweet.
N...umber one spot in the WTA Tour is now held by Maria Sharapova, after the now-retired Justine Henin opted to be removed from the rankings entirely. Sharapova was last ranked No. 1 during Indian Wells in 2007.
N...o other woman has ever retired from tennis while sitting atop the rankings list, until Henin called it quits this week.
I...nternational Tennis Championships in Delray Beach will now be played two weeks later in late February. The early-season hard court event has danced around the ATP Tout calendar in recent years, having been played in January, March, and September.
S...aving break points and saving lives: Sanchai and Sonchat Ratiwatana, who each helped a mother and son escape from a hotel fire in Bordeaux. The twin brothers have won two titles as a doubles tandem on tour, most recently in January in Chennai.
W...omen's singles final at the Australian Open will held at night, starting next year. Since the men's final was shifted to the evening in 2005, there has been discussion about likewise moving the women under the lights.
O...ut as British Davis Cup coach, Peter Lundgren - the former coach of Roger Federer and Marat Safin - wants back into the profession as soon as possible.
R...oland Garros' worst-kept secret: Gustavo Kuerten received a wild card into the French Open, marking his final tournament appearance in his illustrious career. For additional wild card recipients, see here.
L...ive in Florida? You can get a tennis-themed license plate.
D...on't expect a big tournament from me if I take part in it." -- Words from Richard Gasquet, who has hinted that he may not take part in the French Open due to fitness concerns. In related news, Gasquet has parted ways with coach Eric Deblicker, and will now be coached by Guillaume Peyre.
McGrogan's Heroes
ATP - Rafael Nadal
Roger Federer had two glorious chances to win a clay Masters Series event this year, and both times, his kryptonic pal, Rafael Nadal, has thwarted him. For Federer, whose annual Spring pursuit is victory at Roland Garros, winning either Monte Carlo or Hamburg would have been immense. A title would have split the clay Masters shields amongst the three top seeds, given Federer an impressive springboard into the French Open, and most importantly, shifted the momentum in this rivalry to the Swiss' side at just the right time.
But after inconceivable collapses at various points in both finals, Federer looks as lost as ever against Nadal. His backhand, an important part of his arsenal on harder courts and against other opponents, is almost completely ineffective against Rafa, who targets this weakness like a skilled archer. Federer's mind may be even more out of sorts. In the first and second sets of both finals, Roger raced to seemingly comfortable leads. He ended up winning just one of those sets, and that came in a tiebreaker (second set in Hamburg). Federer may very well face his nemesis once again in Paris, but from what we've seen in this clay season, there's nothing to suggest that he'll get over the hump.
There's a good reason for why Federer hasn't been able to "figure out" Rafa on clay. Nadal is doing what's required correctly nearly every time they meet. Federer's own challenges are talked about at length, but Nadal's relentless consistency shouldn't be overlooked. But as impressive as that is, Nadal's play against Novak Djokovic in the semifinals matched this brilliance.
Djokovic and Nadal aren't separated by much, and the closeness of the match was fitting. After a back and forth battle, Nadal led 5-2 in the third set and served for the match. This is when Nadal showed why he's nearly unbeatable on clay. His most effective weapon in this game - in which Nadal faced multiple break points and needed five match points to win - was not his speed, spin, or savvy, but his serve. This often-maligned part of Nadal's game directly saved at least three break points, and steadied a teetering ship. Obviously, Nadal's other assets were on display, but it was the serve that won the day. Lesson: Nadal has everything on clay.
WTA - Jelena Jankovic
Alize Cornet has had a phenomenal clay season so far, going 19-6 on dirt. This record includes two qualifying match wins this past week in Rome, and another five victories en route to her first Tier I final. Her impressive run, which included wins against Francesca Schiavone, Svetlana Kuznetsova, and Anna Chadvetadze, was ended by Jelena Jankovic in the final. It's a tough choice between these two (FYI - each got a significant walkover win in the tournament), but Jankovic's 6-2, 6-2 win on Sunday gives her the narrow edge.
Has Jankovic turned into the Nikolay Davydenko of the women's game? (I'm not referring only to each player's rigorous schedule, either.) Their similarities are striking. Neither has been able to make the leap at a Grand Slam tournament - Jankovic has reached three Slam semifinals, while Davydenko has four. Jankovic is ranked third on the WTA Tour (she was fourth last week), while Davydenko is fourth on the ATP Tour. Their games are similar: neither has an overpowering weapon, but each has a very effective, all-around game.
But the biggest commonality between these two is how they are perceived. When fans discuss favorites at a big tournament, the men's short list includes Federer, Nadal, Djokovic, and Roddick. Davydenko, despite having a better ranking than A-Rod, doesn't arouse fan passion. The same goes for Jankovic, who, because of some consistency problems, isn't often put in the "WTA elite" category (Sharapova, Serena, Ivanovic, and the player formerly known as Henin).
Davydenko's win in Miami this year wasn't his first Masters Series win, but it was definitely his most significant. I think the same can be said about Jankovic's win this past week in Rome. For one, it was a title defense at a prestigious Tier I tournament. Whenever this happens, the word that immediately comes to mind is "validation." And this validation was needed, since Jelena hadn't won an event since last June - strange for a player ranked in the top five. She also got some important wins along the way, including one against Venus Williams in the quarterfinal (5-7, 6-2, 6-3 ). The straight sets win in the final against Cornet, a dark horse pick at Roland Garros, is also noteworthy.
Tennis Theatre
I searched for "tennis central park" (check back in a few days for the reason) and I found this:
Then I found this:
Next Week's Tournaments
TELEVISION SCHEDULE
ARAG ATP World Team Championships (ATP - Clay - Dusseldorf, Germany)
- Round Robin Bracket
- Website
The Hypo Group Tennis International (ATP - Clay - Poertschach, Austria)
- Singles Bracket
- Doubles Bracket
- Website
Grand Prix Hassan II (ATP - Clay - Casablanca, Morocco)
- Singles Bracket
- Doubles Bracket
- Website
Internationaux de Strasbourg (WTA - Clay - Strasbourg, France)
- Singles & Doubles Bracket
- Website
Istanbul Cup (WTA - Clay - Istanbul, Turkey)
- Singles & Doubles Bracket
- Website
Beyond the Bracket
What more is there to say about Justine Henin? Forget tennis - Wednesday morning's announcement was one of the most shocking things I'd heard in a long time in all of sports. Just months ago, Henin was utterly dominant (I think that her play in 2007 bears comparison to that of of Roger Federer); before we could blink, she's gone.
Boxers often retire as the champion, but this isn't the same thing (for one thing, boxers retire - and un-retire - all the time). A tennis player might go out in a blaze of glory, as Pete Sampras did when he won the U.S. Open to conclude his career, but to go out as No. 1? It's unheard of. Her recent form was patchy, but she was still the big favorite to defend successfully in Paris. Plus, she's been an enormous presence and fixture.
It's hard to come up with reasons for why this turned out the way it did. The only answer that I can come up with is that Henin is simply different, in a number of ways. So allow me to simply appreciate her.
Justine's backhand was special, but I also thought her forehand never got the recognition it deserved. She generated similar spin and pace with this potent shot as well. But how could someone so diminutive unleash this weapon? Henin overpowered the great majority of her opponents, with the body of a sprite. One of the definitions from Dictionary.com does her justice:
A small being, human in form, playful and having magical powers.
I always found Justine's appearance unique. Her well documented "tunnel vision" approach to tennis (unlike Sharapova, Williams, Ivanovic, who have many other outside interests) was reflected in her choice of attire, with the pony tail through her hat as the best example. It looked simple, no-frills. But on the flip side, I really liked what Adidas had done with her lately, especially with this year's outfits. They made her look flashier, in keeping with her fetching game - but it was done tastefully. There's a passage from Pete's book, The Courts of Babylon, that instantly made me think of Henin when I read it:
"Fila made another perfect match with Evonne Goolagong. The simple monochromatic tank tops and short, wrap-around skirts Goolagong wore were both minimalistic and elegant. They perfectly underscored her simple, natural game and personality. They didn't do bad things for her slender, boyish figure, either."
Known early on as a relatively stoic individual, Henin opened up a lot in recent years, and it showed in her game. We heard more cries of "Allez" when she hit a good shot. She also was a little less guarded about her personal life, as her revelations about her family at Roland Garros last year demonstrated.
I always found Henin more interesting to follow than most of the other players on the WTA Tour, because there always seemed to be something to uncover about her. I just wish it didn't come to such an abrupt end.
if...
Justine Henin played until she was 32, how many Grand Slam titles do you think she ends up with? Does she win Wimbledon and complete the career Slam?