They Said What??

Here’s something for all of you who don’t understand why Rafael Nadal’s decision to skip the Australian Open was so puzzling: The only thing that makes the quarterfinal look different from a Roland Garros draw is the absence of even a single, well, Spanish player. And remember, Lleyton Hewitt was ushered out of the tournament sputtering and complaining about how Tennis Australia stuck a finger in his eye by making the courts play too slowly to give him a chance at winning.

Brad Gilbert weighed in on these subjects yesterday with an intriguing column in The Age. Read the whole thing, it contains some real gems, including Gilbert’s description of Fabrice Santoro as a “highlight film.” Unfortunately, Santoro lost just a few minutes ago—after a competitive first set, he ran out of steam and he got crushed by David Nalbandian. Here’s one for the “dubious records” department: Santoro was playing his first quarterfinal ever—in his 54th Grand Slam appearance. Nobody has ever done anything remotely like that.

Brad feels that Kim Clijsters' chances to win are “iffy” because of her hip injury, but the woman Clijsters beat yesterday, Francesca Schiavone, had a different take. Check out this exchange from Schiavone’s press conference:

I’ve always liked the Italian players. They’re far more likely than most to speak their minds and let the chips fall where they may. And it’s not because they’re hotheads. OK . . . not just because of that. The Italians have flair and they value communication; they also have an extraordinarily keen nose for hypocrisy and pretense.

I’m with Schiavone on this one—sort of. I don’t really doubt that Clijsters is injured, but I wish she would just shut her pie hole about it. She’s playing good tennis, so how bad can it be? And it’s making the women she beats look worse, to be falling to a cripple.

Schiavone’s blast, though, palls in comparison to the shot Tommy Haas took at Jim Courier, who’s down here as the star of Australia’s Channel 7 broadcasting tournament team (I don’t know if ESPN is beaming Jim’s post-match, on-court interviews with the players, but they’re gems).

Anyway, Lisa Dillman of the Los Angeles Times asked Haas a fairly innocuous question after his five-set loss to Roger Federer last night, prompting Haas to go on a jag culiminating with this riff (sorry I can't link to the interview transcript; for some reason, it isn't available on the official AO website):

Now, I’ve got to admit that I think Haas makes a good point—about the Mighty Fed. I think it’s unwise to be throwing the “greatest ever” label around until a player has more of a track record. After all, it isn’t inconceivable that Nadal ends up dominating Roger (or even that Marat Safin gets a brain transplant and ends up winning his share of majors) in a career rivalry, is it?

What I don’t get though, is Haas going after Jim that way. It’s not like Courier is some loudmouth press pariah or pundit. He’s a recent world No. 1, and multiple Grand Slam champ. He’s worn the shoes flopping around on Tommy’s feet and filled them. He deserves a lot more respect than those comments contain.