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Federer Beats Back Nadal and History for 5th Wimbledon Trophy

D-Wil — 2007-07-08T18:34:00 00:00

Filed under: Tennis

Roger Federer beat a more potent competitor that Rafael Nadal today to win his fifth straight Wimbledon title. He defeated the crushing weight of history. With Bjorn Borg, the only other man to win five Wimbledon championships in a row in attendance, Federer held his nerve and beat Nadal, 7-6 (9-7), 4-6, 7-6 (7-3), 2-6, 6-2.

With this win Federer, only 25, has now won 11 Grand slam titles, just three behind U.S. great. Pete Sampras. Nadal valiantly played the part of potential foil to Federer. But in the end, Nadal's lack of a consistently strong and varied serve, plus his inability to pressure Federer by attacking the Swiss player led to Raffa's ultimate demise.

After the match, each player complimented the other using the usual platitudes. However, Nadal must surely rue the fact that twice in the final set he had double-break point on Federer's serve and failed to convert any of the four break points. Federer must privately know that Nadal has shown an increasingly prevalent knack for coming up just short against the world's #1 on every other Grand Slam surface except clay. And even at the French Open, if Federer has Nadal in a pinch late in a match, Nadal's proclivity to hit his groundstrokes a little weaker, move his feet a little less, and serve a bit slower might even haunt him at the French Open.

While there are a slew of young players on the horizon who are unafraid of Nadal, all of them fear Federer. Look for Roger to end this Grand Slam season with a 12th trophy after the U.S. Open in September.

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She's Our Venus, She's Our Fire, She's Our Desire

D-Wil — 2007-07-07T15:13:00 00:00

by D-Wil

Filed under: Tennis, Women's Sports

Thirty-one, number one. Eighteen, number two. Ask 2007 Wimbledon champion, #31-seed Venus Williams; Just ask #18-seed and runner-up Marion Bartoli of .

Tennis is funny like that, then again, so is sports. When you want to win too much, you'll invariably lose. Just ask Roger Federer about that French Open final. After Wimbledon he tailored his season for the red clay of Roland Garros - and still lost to Rafael Nadal.

For Justine Henin, Wimbledon is the one Grand Slam tournament she hasn't won. Yesterday, after a 6-1 set against Marion Bartoli, Henin was but six games from a finals matchup against Venus Williams. The thought of "tomorrow" became an untenable weight in the world's #one's mind. After a second set struggle that she lost 7-5, the weight came in the form of a boulder that rolled right over Henin. Bartoli crushed Henin, 6-1 in the third and final set.

Today, the weight appeared not to be on Williams, but on Bartoli. After she absorbed a 6-4, 6-1 beating at the racket of the older Williams sister, Bartoli broke down and cried. That only happens when a player has a plan they feel is infallible if executed correctly. Either Bartoli's plan was wrong or her execution was weak.

Maybe Williams, today at least, proved she is just the better tennis player.

The first six games of the match see-sawed. Bartoli showed her nerves in losing the first three games. Williams showed she could take her foot off the gas, even in the finals of a Grand Slam, losing the next three games. However, Williams righted herself and played like the four-time Wimbledon champion she now is and won 12 of the next 14 games.

Though Bartoli played valiantly, her groundstrokes and her athletic ability were no match for Williams. In fact, the way Venus played after her first two Wimbledon matches - they were struggles - not even a healthy Serena could have beaten her older sister.

Thirty-one is number one - at least at Wimbledon.

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On the men's side of things, Roger Federer brushed aside Richard Gasquet (or "Dickie Gasket," as ex-pro, coach of Andy Murray, and announcer Brad Gilbert calls the Frenchman), 7-5, 6-3, 6-4. Club Fed will shoot for his fifth Wimbledon title in a row tomorrow against Rafael Nadal, who defeated an injured (back) Novak Djokovic, 3-6, 6-1, 4-1 (retired).

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Wimbledon Update: Pfffft! Go U.S. Men, Maria Sharapova

D-Wil — 2007-07-04T12:36:00 00:00

by D-Wil

Filed under: Tennis

Pfffft! That's the sound of American men's tennis going up in a final, feeble puff of smoke. It's also the sound of Maria Sharapova's relevance to tennis.

Wait until we get to the grass was all the American men could say after their 0-for performance on the terre batu of Paris at the French Open. Well, it's the second week of Wimbledon and only Andy Roddick is left to rep the world's #9 James Blake went down feebly to Juan

Carlos Ferrero in the 3^rd round. Mardy Fish was weak in his first round effort against Rafael Nadal. Robbie Ginepri folded against Fernando Gonzalez, and alleged rising star Sam Querry basically disappeared.

American men's tennis is on the decline and more trouble is on the winds as there are no young talented players appearing on the horizon. The powers that be in the United States Tennis Association hem and haw and hand-wring, but they seem comfortable with Roddick carrying the torch into the inevitable butt-kicking he faces against Roger Federer. And the sad thing is, beyond A-Rod, we don't even seem to care.

Now to Maria. The fist-pumping and "Vamos" screaming after routine points and the "oh my god, did I just win that match" fake surprise after 6-2, 6-4 second and third round wins has made her a near-pariah to her peers. The act plays nowhere but in the minds of fans that have no understanding of the game and a weak-willed, fawning television and print press.

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Is This Year Time for Wimbledon Upsets?

D-Wil — 2007-06-25T01:53:00 00:00

by D-Wil

Filed under: Tennis, Outdoor Sports

Wimbledon is upon us. As Roger Federer begins his quest for his fifth straight Wimbledon title, Justine Henin seeks her first.

Federer is an odds on favorite on the fast grass. Henin, on the other hand, must contend with women with powerful groundstrokes and big serves like Serena and Venus Williams, and Maria Sharapova.

Federer's first tough match will come in the third round against 6'4" Marat Safin. Though Safin has had an off year so far, he is always dangerous on the grass courts. Also down the road for Federer might be #13-ranked Tommy Haas or #9 James Blake.

World's #3 Andy Roddick is coming off a fourth straight victory at the Queen's Club, a warm up tournament for Wimbledon. Roddick's road to the quarterfinals appears easier than Federer's in that his main competition are player's whose games are more suited to clay than grass.

Rafael Nadal, #2-seed has an incredibly tough opening match against American Mardy Fish. Though Fish has been injured, this surface fits his serve-and-volley game to a tee. Should Fish return Nadal's serve and force his way to the net, an upset can happen. Should he get by Fish, in the third round Nadal is likely to face the huge-hitting Robin Soderling from Sweden. All-in-all I do not see Nadal reaching the final weekend this year.

On the women's side, Henin and Serena Williams appear to both have clear paths to a quarterfinal meeting. French Open finalist Jelena Jankovic must make her way through Israeli Shahar Peer or Martina Hingis, and possibly meet Anna Chakvetadze in the quarters. In Maria Sharapova's quarter of the draw it looks for all the world that she will face Venus Williams in a round-of-16 matchup worthy of the finals.

My predictions? It remains to be seen what the effect are of Federer losing to Nadal in the French Open finals. However, I feel Federer will pull through and win his fifth Winbledon. On the women's side I'm looking for Venus Williams to upset #2 Sharapova and Serena to defeat Henin in the quarterfinals. And I feel Serena takes the women's trophy.

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Justine Henin and -------- Herpes?!

D-Wil — 2007-06-13T18:37:00 00:00

by D-Wil

Filed under: Tennis

Justine Henin, in her French Open finals post-match press conference had this to say (question and answer):

Q. Weren't you afraid that the emotional side of things would have too much influence on that match?

JUSTINE HENIN: No, I didn't panic. I knew I was not starting that match well. I can tell you, I had a horrible night. My herpes came out again, and I said to my doctor, "Well, I see everything is fine, it's great."

So, really, I was a bit anxious. But also, I really wanted to do well. And very early in the match, the match turned over. And then I knew I was going to be able to keep it up until the end. (enphasis mine)

Henin is recently divorced. Is this part of the reason for the split with her husband?

I mean I'm just sayin'. And will this be an excuse for future losses? I can hear it now:

Q: Justine, in the second set your forehand just seemed to fail you, and you seemed to tire as the match went on. Is that true?

Henin: Well, my herpes began to act up and I wanted to get off the court before my sore began to show.

I'll be looking out for all of Henin's post-match interviews from here on out.

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Rafael Nadal-Roger Federer at the French Open: Set 3 to Nadal, 6-3

D-Wil — 2007-06-10T11:40:00 00:00

by D-Wil

Filed under: Tennis

It's set three and I get the feeling that both players are still feeling a lot of pressure at a time in the match when the pressure of playing the match normally has wilted away. There are no yells of "Vamos!" from Nadal; not many fist pumps from Federer.

Federer came to net 17 times in the second set compared with six in the first. As far back as Nadal stands to return Federer;s serve, Roger could stand to come in even more. A Nadal forehend winner gives him double-break point at 15-40.

Nadal gets the break as Federer plays his worst service game. While Nadal is content to stand eight to 10 feet behind the baseline and play defense until he gets a relatively short shot, Federer must force the action. And when he does, Federer must hit deep approach shots or he gives Nadal time to hit passing shots.

At 3-0 Nadal, it appears that Raffa allows Federer to hold his serve, which may not be the best thing to do. Any lapse in concentration in a match like this can swing the momentum in favor of the opponent in a flash. However, it appears that Federer is the player who has the more difficult time keeping it together as he misses toe easy returns. Just as quickly, though, he comes back with a nice forehand winner to even the game at 30-all. Nadal crushes a forehand to get the game to 40-30.

Again, at 4-1 Nadal plays a loose game on Federer's serve. Additionally Nadal's first serve percentage is dipping rapidly. But Roger dumps two forehands in the net to allow Raffa to get to 30-15 on his serve. A third missed forehand give Nadal two game points. Federer screams at himself, then promptly hits another wild forehand to give Nadal the game; 5-2 Nadal. I wouldn't put it past Nadal to really concentrate this game and try to break Federer's serve - which might just break the world number one's spirit.

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Roger Federer Wins French Open Set Two, 6-4

D-Wil — 2007-06-10T10:58:00 00:00

by D-Wil

Filed under: Tennis

Federer faced down Nadal to even the second set a 2-all. The question is: will Roger loosen up and just play tennis and forget about all the "best ever" hype? Nadal has actually played rather poorly, but Federer has done nothing to pressure Nadal.

After winning an amazing point, Federer sprays a short forehand and instead of being up 15-40, he's down 40-30 with Nadal serving. McEnroe pointed out aptly that Federer has hit no drop shots, no slices off his backhand. Nor has he used it to lure Nadal to the net where Raffa's game is weakest. If Fed continues on this path, the match will be over within an hour.

What is interesting about Federer's performance is that he is nearly emotionless; the only expression he is showing is one of quiet angst.

Finally! Federer breaks through.... he breaks Nadal's serve on a nice inside-out forehand and Nadal dumps the reply into the net. And Roger ---- gives a fist pump! Maybe this will get him into the match. Will he now be able to hold?

No sooner than I write this, it's 0-30, but Nadal misses an easy forehand return, 15-30.... Federer misses an easy forehand and it's double-break point. Fed squeezes out of one break as Nadal misses a return. And a beautiful kick second serve wins Fed the next breaker: it's deuce. At deuce Federer hit an incredible dipping forehand for a winner, and then misses almost the same shot: deuce again.

Roger then mishits a backhand and Nadal makes him pay with a forehand winner up the line.... break point again. WHAT! Another missed call, by the replay or the line judge? Nadal's lob appeared to be on the line... But Federer saves the break point anyway. On ad-Federer, Roger serves out wide and finally slices a backhand into the open court for a 5-3 lead.

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Raffa Takes First Set, 6-3

D-Wil — 2007-06-10T10:03:00 00:00

by D-Wil

Filed under: Tennis

Federer hits a beautiful pass, albeit a mis-hit and Nadal is down 0-30 on his serve.... Fed is a little off-balance and misses an easy backhand (easy for me to say!).....

Nadal misses yet another forehand and it's break point. The fans sense the urgency of the moment. Nadal is shaky. A fantastic serve to Federer's forehand gets him out of one breaker. Why Federer didn't chip his backhand return at 30-40 is beyond me. Federer loses a long point: ad-Nadal.

Fed blasts a backhand cross court swinging Nadal out wide and finishes Nadal off with a forehend - deuce..... this is a key game. Roger ends the deuce point at the net - ad-Fed. Second serve. Federer blows an easy inside-out forehand: deuce.

Nadal gets pushed around again and its advantage Federer yet again.... A key second serve and Federer pushes a forehand into the net on an 85-mph serve.... Kind of a choke.

Federer then misses yet another backhand and is about to let Nadal off the hook..... But then Fed plays a fantastic point to bring things back to deuce. The same backhand that let Federer down last point allows Roger to win this one. Then another clean winner. Is Fed getting in the groove?

Nadal needs a good serve on break point here.... Second serve.... Nadal hits an amazinf forehand hooking it in the court down the line - that's strength.... Deuce. Federer misses a forehand return.... It's soon to be 3-3 first set. Sure enough a good Nadal serve wins the game... Federer has a let down it's 0-30. If Roger loses this match he can point to the 3-2 game when he failed to break Nadal's serve. Now it's 0-40. A missed backhand by Fed and it's 4-3 Nadal..... dare I say, the first set is over?

NO! just as quickly Nadal gets nervous and it's 0-40. Whoops Fed misses an easy backhand return. Nadal has only missed one first serve on break point - he just missed his second.... Federer chokes another forehand: 30-40.... and another. It's deuce.

Dude!!!! Get to net! The chair gets down and misses the call on Nadal's first serve - wonderful. Federer misses yet again. This is a little sad. All he had to do this game was to be aggressive - and he blew it.... 5-3 Nadal. It looks like Federer is giving up - is it the set or the match?

It's set point. This one's for the match. One Nadal Forehand and it's over, 6-3 Nadal. And with it, perhaps Roger's chance at winning the French.

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Roger Federer-Rafael Nadal - Open Thread(s)

D-Wil — 2007-06-10T09:32:00 00:00

by D-Wil

Filed under: Tennis

The excuse for Nadal losing in Rome is his being mentally tired. Federer spanks a forehand off Nadal's second serve for a winner, 15-all. Fed backs Nadal up on another serve and Nadal pushes a backhand out . This is a crucial point. Roger takes advantage of another weak Nadal serve for 15-40, double-break point.

Nadal gets out of the first breaker as Federer cannot hit any groundstroke deep, 30-40.....

Raffa hit a wide slice on his first serve, the lefty's's winning stroke to open up the court. and wipe away the second breaker. Nadal then gets serious and pushes Federer around the court. It appears the break points woke up Nadal.

An interesting note: Federer must feel like there's a conspiracy against him here at Roland Garros. For 13 days the courts have played faster than normal. Yet, when he needs it most, Federer walks out and the court is slower than it ever has been.....

Nadal blows an easy forehand and Federer is up 40-0 on his serve. Roger blasts in a first serve, Nadal pushes a forehand long.....

Who's looking like what? Can you tell?

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Roger Federer-Rafael Nadal Open Thread

D-Wil — 2007-06-10T09:21:00 00:00

by D-Wil

Filed under: Tennis

It's 40-30 in the first game Club Fed serving. Johnny Mac says the ball is bouncing high, favoring Nadal.

Federer just held serve.... Raffa's turn. NBC's Mary Carillo points out that Roger has beaten Nadal 3 of 4 of their last head-to-head matches...

Nadal serving. Novak Djokavic says Nadal is the physically strongest player in the world; Federer says he's the fittest. NBC cameras focus on Nadal's biceps (tennis is so weird). Focusing on a player's biceps is a ridiculous notion in other sports, but tennis players aren't known for strength.

Nadal holds easily. It's obvious that he's trying to get a quicker start than last year when he dropped the first set to Federer, 6-1. It's apparent that both players are nervous as Nadal sprays some shots over the baseline. It's now 2-1 Federer.... time to make a post. Early on? No advantage...

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Set 4: Raffa Puts A Beat Down on Federer, 6-3, 4-6, 6-3, 6-4

D-Wil — 2007-06-10T00:32:00 00:00

by D-WilNadal opens the fourth set with yet another equipment backhand wrist shot for a winner. Federer blows an easy volley, letting it dip too far under the net and dropping his writs and the game score is deuce. However, an ace brings Federer to game point. Another service winner gives Fed the first game win.

At 40-30 Nadal hits a poor drop volley and Federer hits a winner bringing game two to deuce. Federer then hits a miraculous defensive slice backhand, Nadal pulls his approach forehand wide for a break point. But then Nadal comes up with an equally amazing forehand when Federer tries to hit behind Nadal one too many times: deuce.
Nadal then easily serves out the game, 1-1, fourth set. It is here that I think Nadal will try to take the match from Nadal.

Federer misses a forehand, 0-15. Nadal returns the favor, 15-15. Federer misses yet another forehand 15-30. Nadal gets Federer's drop shot, 15-40. Federer clubs a forehand after a serve out wide, 30-40. Nadal is 10 feet behind the baseline... Federer misses a forehand - game, break of serve and probably match Nadal: 2-1 Nadal.

From here on out all that separates Raffa from another French Open championship is holding his serve. and now that he feels he can run down pretty much anything that Federer hits, he should feel pretty good about his chances. when Federer lost the first set after squandering 10 break points, the writing was on the wall. Federer misses an easy backhand return and it's 3-1 Nadal.

Federer hits two aces to propel himself to a service hold: 3-2, Nadal. Just as quickly Nadal holds for a 4-2 lead. I'm sure he'll try to break Federer again so that he can serve out the match. Federer does hold, though, forcing Nadal to still win two games to win the match.

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Prostitution Ring Run by Agassi School Cheer Coach

D-Wil — 2007-06-09T01:47:00 00:00

by D-Wil

Filed under: Tennis, High School

A cheerleading coach ay Andre Aggassi's prep school for at-risk children was a participant in a porostitution ring in Las Vegas. Esperanza Brooks, age 36, was arrested Wednesday night in Las Vegas after agreeing to deliver three prostitutes and drugs to undercover detectives at a hotel-casino.

School spokesman, Rob Powers said that while Brooks is a cheer coach, she is not a faculty member of the school founded by Agassi.

"Obviously, we're very concerned and the well-being of the students is our chief concern," Powers said, adding that Brooks passed a background check requested by the school.

Initial police reports show that ir appears none of the school's 500 students were involved in the ring.

According to the above-linked USA Today article:

Brooks was booked into Clark County jail and charged with 14 counts of prostitution-related charges. Kemp, 30, faces three counts of conspiracy to commit pandering and conspiracy to live off the earnings of a prostitute.

Tiffany Alvord, Rachael Alexander and Rachel Wall, each believed to be prostitutes working for Brooks, were booked on one count of soliciting for the purpose of prostitution. Wall was charged with possession of cocaine, police said. None of the women were minors, police said.

That Brooks passed a background check probably means she had no previous record. Hopefully this does nothing to tarnish Agassi or his school

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Sharapova Gets Crushed by Ivanovic at French Open

D-Wil — 2007-06-07T22:54:00 00:00

by D-Wil

Filed under: Tennis

Ummm, what was that everyone was talking about Maria Sharapova? She's a great champion. She's a fantastic tennis player. She's the player who ------------ got absolutely smoked today in the semifinals of the French Open, that's who she is

Sharapova sputtered and choked her way to a 6-2, 6-1 butt-kicking at the hands of 19-year old Ana Ivanovic. Sharapova looked scare, just like she did in the Australian Open final in her 6-1, 6-2 drubbing by Serena Williams, just like she did against Serena in Key Biscayne.

Sharapova will assuredly never win a French Open and will be hard-pressed to win another major. With a bevy of young players like Ivanovic who are unafraid of the over-hyped one and other players who plain don't like her - who happen to be champions, like Justines Henin and Williams - Sharapova will have to perform a personality makeover by the time she's 23 or perish under a mountain of more talented athletes who are better players than she.

The saving grace for Maria is that now she get to play on grass, her favorite surface. She loves Wimbledon, the site of her first Grand Slam tournament win as the grass is fast and her shots move through the court at a rate they never can on clay or even hard courts.

However, today the world saw that the more shots Sharapova has to hit, the worse off she is. Her lack of athleticism is exposed and her horrid forehand becomes the liability it is. And as the match winds on, as it did against Ivanovic, Sharapova even loses her nerve on her serve.

Invanovic will face Justine Henin in the French Open finals.

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Serena Still Hurt From Four Years Ago, Loses to Henin

D-Wil — 2007-06-05T15:22:00 00:00

by D-Wil

Filed under: Tennis

Justine Henin had won 29 straight sets at the French Open before today. Serena Williams, a 6-4, 6-3 loser to Henin, allowed the Belgian woman to make it 31.

For all the hype surrounding this match, it turned out to be a very routine win for the world's #1 woman player. The prevailing thought was that Serena would make the match physical, too physical for the slight (5' 6", 125 pounds) Henin. Physical in tennis means hard-hit, heavy shots and running a player with those shots from side to side; that's what wears down an opponent over a period of time. Williams, though, never seemed to find her way in the match because Henin smacked her off the court before Williams had the chance.

There is also a history between these two players that makes them mortal enemies. Four years ago at the French before a key point in their match then, Henin held up her hand just as Serena was about to serve. Williams, seeing this, half-heartedly hit her serve into the net. Williams rightfully expected to be able to hit that first serve again. The chair umpire, though, said she never saw Henin raise her hand to stop play. Henin, in a stunningly ruthless gamesmanship maneuver, refused to acknowledge that she held up her hand, essentially costing Williams her first serve. The French fans showed their bias and booed Williams (Henin is from the French portion of Belgium). Serena was shaken and never recovered from that point. She lost her serve that game and eventually the match.

So, here were these women four years later meeting at the French for the first time since that incident. When they entered the court, Henin was cheered wildly. Serena's entrance was met with lukewarm polite cheering. Any other, non-French player who outright cheated to win a point during a match would have been booed every time they walked on any court at the French Open (ask Maria Sharapova).

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Raffa Roughs Up Hewitt at French Open

D-Wil — 2007-06-04T19:22:00 00:00

by D-Wil

Filed under: Tennis

Rafael Nadal punished Lleyton Hewitt today at the French Open, 6-3, 6-1, 7-6 (7-5). Raffa, now in the quarterfinals, pummeled Hewitt with high-bouncing , heavy topspin groundstrokes. Hewitt far too often found himself pinned six to eight feet behind the baseline and still hitting shoulder-high shots.

In the end Hewitt, who appears to have injuries and the the newness of fatherhood behind him, still has a long ways to go before he can claim his comeback is complete. Nadal, on the other hand, looked like he always does at the French - unbeatable.

Can Rafael Nadal win his third straight French Open title, or will Roger Federer be the holder of all four Grand Slam trophies at once? Nadal played a confident match today against a potentially dangerous opponent. For Nadal to lose, it will take a supreme effort from an opponent and for Nadal to be slightly off his game.

The most dangerous player remaining on Nadal's side of the draw is Novak Djokavic. Meanwhile, Federer faces the dangerous Spaniard, Tommy Robredo in the quarters. Should Federer win, he then must play the winner of the Nikolay Davydenko-Guillermo Canas match. Though seeded 19, Canas has beaten Federer this season and is certainly unafraid of the world's #1, especially on clay.

My thoughts? Bother Fed and Nadal win their quarterfinal matches. Federer gets upset in the semis by Canas, while Nadal wins a tough, tough battle against Djokavic. Nadal then grounds Canas in to the red stuff for his third French Open championship in a row.

But wait! This prediction is subject to change, so look for more tomorrow or Wednesday, I might just have a change of heart.

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Maria Sharapova Finangles Her Way to A French Open Win

D-Wil — 2007-06-03T16:14:00 00:00

by D-Wil

Filed under: Tennis

Patty Schnyder had Maria Sharapova on the ropes today at the French Open today. Sharapova was choking hard. Sharapova was cheating equally hard. Oh yeah she cheated. Down 2-1 in the third set of her 3-6, 6-4, 9-7 win over Schnyder Maria called the trainer for a phantom injury break, effectively cooling Schnyder's jets.

Twice at key moments in the middle of games she was losing in the third set, Sharapova stopped play and changed rackets that had no technical problems; the second stick switch earned Sharapova a warning from the chair umpire. Maria's daddy, Yuri Shrapov, was doing his customary illegal coaching from his seat in the friends box.

This time, though, instead of turning a blind eye to Maria's shenanigans, the tennis-savvy French crowd began booing Sharapova when she called for the trainer. The booing continued when Maria questioned several calls on shots she hit that were obviously out. Schnyder, a known good woman on the tour, even shot Sharapova a few evil glances during the match. She was booed on each stall tactic racket switch. And when Sharapova finally won, some of the crowd cheered, but a whole lot of the crowd booed.

Sure clay isn't Sharapova's best surface; she's never advanced past the quarterfinals at Roland Garros. But it appears the, 'I'll win by hook or by crook' is finally getting on the nerves of tennis audiences around the world. Earlier this year she was booed for the same tactics at the Australian Open. It will be interesting to see if she's booed by the normally genteel British crowd at Wimbledon.

But Maria won because Schnyder choked harder than she did. and Maria won because Schnyder is too nice to demand that the chair umpire stop Sharapova's illegal tactics. Maybe the day will come soon when a player who isn't so nice or who truly doesn't like Sharapova - like one of the Russian women - tells Sharapova to cut the crap and play. Maybe television announcers like those at NBC will stop with the "controversial ending" nonsense and the "Maria dug deep like a champion blah blah and tell the truth.

Maria Sharapova needs a good verbal slapping right on the court for the whole world to see.

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Serena Moves On, Mauresmo Fails Again on Her Home Clay

D-Wil — 2007-06-03T07:52:00 00:00

by D-Wil

Filed under: Tennis

Serena Williams made short work of potentially dangerous opponent Dinara Safina today, winning 6-2, 6-3. Williams jumped out to a 4-0 lead in the first set and ran away with the set. In the second, Safina broke Williams' serve to begin the set, but Serena broke right back. At 2-2 Safina had another break point, but this time failed to convert and Serena fairly cruised from there.

Next up for Serena in the quarterfinals will more than likely be top seed Justine Henin who plays #23-ranked Austrian Sybille Bammer. Henin, barring a miracle or injury will defeat Bammer.

Henin is simply the best women's clay court player in the world. Though Serena, since winning the Australian Open in January announced that she is serious about returning to the top of the women's rankings, she has little chance for the upset against Justine. Like most Americans on the men's and women's sides of the French Open draw, she will be looking forward to the friendly confines and grass courts at Wimbledon.

Amelie Mauresmo did not have as much luck as Serena and the Parisian choked yet another French Open away. Mauresmo has never gone beyond the quarterfinals of the French and with her loss to little-known Lucy Safrova, will have to wait another year to even get to the round of eight.

This year Amelie was even nice enough to forewarn the French faithful not to expect too much from her.

"I've been struggling for weeks now and, as I said before coming here, I didn't really know what to expect. "I really didn't have a goal so was taking it match by match. It's a little bit sad to say but I didn't really expect great things to happen."

In all fairness, Mauresmo has been on the comeback after a two-month layoff due to appendicitis, so she does have a viable excuse. But at age 27, she doesn't have many French Opens left to play. At this rate, though, she might just go down in women's tennis history as having the worst results at the French open for any woman who has reached the world's number one rank. That surely is going down in infamy, especially for a native French woman.

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Pro Tennis: It's High Time to Bring Back Wood Rackets

D-Wil — 2007-06-02T21:35:00 00:00

by D-Wil

Filed under: Tennis

Professional tennis players need to go back to wood.

After watching Maria Sharapova hit one of her patented squash-like wristed stretch forehands and watching Rafael Nadal (both Maria and Raffa bludgeoned their opponents today at the French Open) do the same, and many other not-so well known players hit similar shots, I got disgusted. I'm joining John McEnroe's oft-spoken suggestion to both the men's' - ATP - and women's - WTA - tours, bring back the wood!

I have grown tired of watching pros hit "equipment shots," the kind of shots that were impossible before the advent of composite tennis rackets. I'm tired of players with marginal games, but with one weapon only advance far in tournaments because they can now use their on stroke, swing as hard as they can and hit winners from anywhere in the court.

Today power is more important than strategy and speed is more important than court position. The ability to generate tons of power only through racket speed means players are no longer forced to think their way through a point. Why do that, when you can slug your way out of trouble, a la Fernando Gonzalez? Sure, Gonzo has hired Larry Stefanki, to help him think more on the court, but he still largely stomps his way through matches like the proverbial bull in a china shop.

Wood rackets are much heavier than their composite cousins, and do not require as much racket speed to generate power. However, with their smaller racket heads, the "sweet spot" - that perfect striking area on the racket face - on a wood racket is actually smaller than a tennis ball. The sweet spot on composite rackets is more often than not, oval and the size of two tennis balls in width and two and-a-half balls in length.

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U.S. at the French Open: One Life To Live

D-Wil — 2007-06-01T16:14:00 00:00

by D-Wil

Filed under: Tennis

Venus lost, Yep, she sure did. Jelena Jankovic, who plays at Roland Garros like she had red clay in her first booties, beat the elder Williams sister, 6-4, 4-6, 6-1. That leaves but one American, Venus' not-so little sis, Serena, who was a 6-3, 6-4 winner over Michaella Krajicek.

Jankovic, who won the Rome warmup tournament for the French looked comfortable throughout the match. Venus, on the other hand, never quite seemed to gain her footing on the red stuff, appeared tired toward the match's end, and said as much after her loss.

"I got a little bit tired at the end," Williams said. "It's tough on clay.

"The third set went a little bit faster than what I expected. I felt a little bit slow ... I couldn't get my feet where I wanted them."

Serena cruised through her match with Krajicek. Afterward she gave her trademark Miss smile and wave to the crowd and surely turned her attention to her next opponent Dinara Safina. In a match much harder than Serena's, Safina defeated 's Francesca Schiavone, 3-6, 6-3, 6-1. With an eye toward Safina, Williams said of her match today:

"I didn't think I played well at all. I'm trying not to peak too soon, but at some point I need to start playing better."

The rainy conditions in Paris have compacted play to the point Williams was forced to play three matches in four days. However, Serena will get a day's rest before her match with Safina.

But Serena represents 's last hope for a French Open champion this year; one American left - one life to live.

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Serena, Venus Our Only French Open Hopes

D-Wil — 2007-05-31T21:07:00 00:00

by D-Wil

Filed under: Tennis

Venus won yesterday; Serena won today at the French Open. Big news? No, they should win - for now. Tomorrow #26-seed Venus must play #4-seed Jelena Jankovic and Williams will be a heavy underdog to the hard-hitting Serb. Should #8-seed Serena get by her next match against by Michaella Krajicek tomorrow she then has the unenviable task of facing #10-seed Dinara Safin, sister of two-time Grand Slam tournament winner, Marat Safin.

Should both the sisters lose in the next two days, there will be no Americans left on either side of the French Open draw - no men, no women. The American men went an astounding 0-9 in the first round of the tournament. That's zero wins with two men, Andy Roddick and James Blake, ranked in the top ten in the world. And by Sunday there may be no women left, either.

Sure, there's been a decline in the popularity of American tennis. And I bet if I lay blame it on all most Americans for turning our backs on the sport, people would say, who cares. But then we all complain when we don't have Americans to watch in the Grand Slam tournaments.

With Roddick turning 25 this year and Blake turning 28 and the rest of the men's contingent around the same age, there's not much to look forward to in the coming years. At best, we'll see Roddick in the quarterfinals of Wimbledon or the U.S. Open for the next couple of years. Maybe Blake will make a string run in a few more Slams, but that's not good enough.

For the women, since Lindsey Davenport retired to start a family, the Williams sisters are the only two American women left to carry the torch. And yes, they can certainly win major tourneys for the next few years, but there's no one coming up behind them; no young American girls thought to be on the cusp of greatness.

So what do we do? Enjoy the Williams sisters while we can and be pleasantly surprised when Roddick or Blake does the unexpected and make a deep run in a major. And soon enough, since we don't care, the players probably won't as much, either. Is that good with you?

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