Saturday, January 28, 2006
ENNA. EH! What more can be said about Justine Henin's disgraceful bellyache? Peter Bodo reports that Patrick McEnroe said she "pulled a Roberto Duran." She did indeed. Sonny Liston also comes to mind -- quite the resolute punisher when on top, but not willing to see a defeat through to the end.
In other news:
Baghdatis? Told ya!
In other news:
Baghdatis? Told ya!
Monday, January 16, 2006
A STAR IS BORN, it's tempting to say after watching Bulgarian teenager Tszvetana Pironkova take out Venus Williams, 2-6 6-0 9-7, in the first round of the Australian Open. Then again, we've seen plenty of girls pull upsets and fade into women's tennis's bulging second tier.
Venus and Serena do need to be reminded that being a top player isn't a part-time job. But I saw someting encouraging in Venus's play. She got in trouble by coming to the net, but she came to the net. And kept coming. With so many women hitting such great groundstrokes (add Tszvetana Pironkova to that list, even if you need to use the cut-and-paste function), it would behoove a woman so tall and with such reach to get the heck up there and dare them to hit passing shots. You don't become expert at that style overnight, but this losing effort was a start.
I've said this before, but it's also nice to see a smile and some eye contact in a Williams handshake, after a win or a loss.
Venus and Serena do need to be reminded that being a top player isn't a part-time job. But I saw someting encouraging in Venus's play. She got in trouble by coming to the net, but she came to the net. And kept coming. With so many women hitting such great groundstrokes (add Tszvetana Pironkova to that list, even if you need to use the cut-and-paste function), it would behoove a woman so tall and with such reach to get the heck up there and dare them to hit passing shots. You don't become expert at that style overnight, but this losing effort was a start.
I've said this before, but it's also nice to see a smile and some eye contact in a Williams handshake, after a win or a loss.
Saturday, January 14, 2006
JARKKO NIEMINEN must be doing something right, though I'll be damned if I can figure out what it is.
I first got a good look at the Finn in his ouchy-back victory over Agassi in the first round of last year's French Open. Nieminen's loll-and-roll Andres Gomez style was the perfect one to keep him standing until Andre could no longer stand himself. And then came Wimbledon, where I was amazed that that style won more than a game or two on grass against Henman. And now the Jarkmaster is winning tournaments on Rebound Ace over the hottest players in the world. Sometimes I wonder whether I know anything at all about this game.
I first got a good look at the Finn in his ouchy-back victory over Agassi in the first round of last year's French Open. Nieminen's loll-and-roll Andres Gomez style was the perfect one to keep him standing until Andre could no longer stand himself. And then came Wimbledon, where I was amazed that that style won more than a game or two on grass against Henman. And now the Jarkmaster is winning tournaments on Rebound Ace over the hottest players in the world. Sometimes I wonder whether I know anything at all about this game.
Wednesday, January 04, 2006
THE NEW YEAR IN TENNIS. Some thoughts on what might be the stories of the year:
Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal seem destined to continue their reign as No. 1 and Distant No. 2. If not for Nadal, Federer would be closing in on that elusive French Open title by now. If not for Federer, Nadal would be picking up some major hard-court titles.
Andy Roddick and Lleyton Hewitt might fall a bit as they press to make a dent in the Federer armor.
Andre Agassi (I hope I'm wrong) seems likely to succumb to injuries and call it quits.
Marcos Baghdatis and Andy Murray are the up-and-coming men to watch. Look for both to end the year in the top 20, if not the top 10.
Martina Hingis has a golden opportunity to restake her claim as a contender for Grand Slam titles amid the chaos that is women's tennis. She's a little shit, but I'll be rooting for her. What a game.
Electronic line calling should become the norm. Look: Even if the fucker is off by a hair on occasion, how about just playing until the damn thing tells you a ball is out? And all this business of regulating challenges is ridiculous. Reviewing a call takes 0.0 seconds. Review every call. Better yet: Get rid of the linespeople and hook up the machine to a beeper. That's where we'll end up eventually.
Doping policy needs to become (a) sane and (b) ruthless. I still don't understand what's going on, but for now, at least in official statements, it appears that the people being suspended are either taking substances shoved down their throat by the ATP (Rusedski) or taking microscopic amounts of innocuous over-the-counter medications that couldn't help their performance even by the gallon jug (every Argentine who has ever picked up a tennis racket). But wait: Why would the Argentines bother? Obviously there's a communication problem. We need a clear voice to go with that stern hand, and then we need that hand to get even sterner. Suspend the hell out of Puerta if it's merited, but then don't go telling me that it was because he accidentally licked a Dristan.
