Archive | January, 2012

Australian Open Day 6 Men’s Picks

20 Jan

Quick Picks

Predicted Winners in Bold

  1. Jo-Wilfried Tsonga already advanced so no need to pick here.
  2. Andy Murray should beat Michael Llodra in straight sets.  Llodra has enough talent to take one set, but I don’t expect Murray to be troubled.
  3. Novak Djokovic should win easily vs. Nicolas Mahut.
  4. David Ferrer should beat Juan Ignacio Chela in 3 or 4 sets.  I expect a lot of rallies.  Ferrer benefits as the match progresses.
  5. Janko Tipsarevic should win in 3 or 4 sets vs. Richard Gasquet.  Janko is playing well, and Gasquet is just not steady enough in my mind to win.
  6. I think Milos Raonic beats Lleyton Hewitt in 4 sets, but if this gets to a 5th set the advantage shifts heavily to Hewitt.
  7. I am picking Mikhail Kukushkin in a mild upset over Gael Monfils.  Kukushkin is solid.  Monfils should have momentum after his runner-up finish in Qatar (not to mention his win over Nadal), but I just think he will play too far behind the baseline to win.
  8. Kei Nishikori and Julien Benneteau are both nice players.  This is a hard one to call, but I think Nishikori wins 4 tight sets against the veteren Frenchmen.

What do you think?

Tags: , , , ,

2012 Australian Open Day 5: Tomic d. Dolgopolov & US Washout

20 Jan

6 Quick Hits

  • Roger Federer winning the 1st set vs. Ivo Karlovic made his match fairly simple.  Playing from behind against a huge server can cause some anxiety.
  • Jelena Jankovic sets up a match against Caroline Wozniacki.  To hammer an obvious point, both players need some validation at majors.
  • Juan Martin del Potro vs. Phillip Kohlschreiber should be a great match.
  • A championship rematch – Na Li vs. Kim Clijsters
  • Tomas Berdych vs. Nicolas Almagro is a quietly interesting match.  I am surprised both have played through to their seed to this point, but Berdych was quite consistent in 2011 except at the biggest events.  Maybe he is ready to be consistent at the majors too.
  • Christina McHale got a lot of TV time on ESPN.  I think Jingoism at 1 AM is a bad idea programing-wise as casual tennis fans are not likely to be watching.

Bernard Tomic Wins in 5 Again

Australian tennis players have done better than their U.S. counterparts.  Bernard Tomic won a tight match against Alexandr Dolgopolov 4-6, 7-6, 7-6, 2-6, 6-3.  A new wave of players is starting to shake-up the tour.  Tomic winning gives him a leg up over many of his peers.  How he handles Mount Federer is going to be telling.  Tomic took a set off of Roger in Davis Cup last year, but that was on grass and less than one week after Federer left New York coming off of a crushing defeat.  I think Tomic can push the match to a 4th set, but Federer should come through.  Still, Tomic’s 5th set form vs. Verdasco and Dolgopolov bodes well for how he handles pressure.  Can he push Federer to a 5th set?

 John Isner and the U.S.

John Isner appears to be in the best shape of his career.  His return game has more purpose to it.  He is pretty unflappable.  Also, John Isner wins a lot of marathon matches at Grand Slam events.  In 2009, he clipped Andy Roddick in a 5th set tiebreak.  His 2010 Wimbledon match vs. Nicolas Mahut is self-explanatory.  Isner had just beaten David Nalbandian in 5 sets so he needed a shorter match vs. Feliciano Lopez.  Isner failed to break serve as Lopez served for the 3rd set despite Lopez double faulting 4 times during the service game.  Isner took the 4th set in a tie break, but he needed to win the 3rd set to have a chance physically to advance.  Isner has improved tactically.  However, his return game overall is still mechanically unsteady and his backhand is something opponent can still exploit.  I would have loved to see Isner lock horns with Nadal given their 5 set match at the French Open in 2011.  Nadal will beat Lopez handily.

Having all U.S. born male players eliminated prior to the round of 16 is an indictment of player development in the U.S.  Ryan Harrison played quite well vs. Andy Murray.  He is young enough to give a lot of hope.  John Isner is fit, and looks like he can have good results in 2012.  Andy Roddick can’t be blamed for falling to an injury. Sam Querrey is healthy again and can begin to climb back into relevance.  On the other hand, Mardy Fish’s mental toughness has to come into question after his loss.  Donald Young’s ranking may climb due to a healthy diet of North American 250 events, but his game is not going to consistently threaten anyone in the top 20.    Beyond all of that, there is a lack of top level depth among the U.S. men.  Jack Sock and Denis Kudla could help on this front, but it is too early to really know.  Ryan Harrison may have a lonely career as the Great Yankee Hope.

Tags: , , ,

2012 Australian Open Day 4: Lendl and Murray + Hewitt v. Roddick

19 Jan

6 Quick Hits

  • Petra Kvitova lost a set and Chris Evert stated that she is not yet fully fit and will likely not win this Australian Open.  This is something to follow.
  • Novak Djokovic looks solid, and a showdown with Milos Raonic seems like a great round of 16 match.
  • Kei Nishikori could surprise people in Melbourne despite needing 5 sets to reach the 3rd round.
  • David Ferrer and Janko Tipsarevic are going to be hard outs in the draw.
  • Nicolas Mahut has little chance vs. Djokovic, but his 3rd round entrance helps him not solely be remembered as an answer to a trivia question.
  • Maria Sharapova is destroying people, but I am still skeptical about her second serve.

Ivan Lendl – Game Changer

Ivan Lendl’s tenure as Andy Murray’s coach is either going to be really successful or really short.  Lendl is not going to put up with Murray’s traditional barbs toward his coach/family during matches.  Lendl is still an intimidating figure.  Some critics of Roger Federer complain about Federer giving off an imperious vibe.  Lendl has that vibe too, but it is far less genial than Federer’s.  I like seeing Lendl back, and I think projecting an imperious persona is not bad for Federer or Lendl.  Lendl however seems menacing in a way that will should help Murray.  If Murray is smart enough, he can learn by osmosis.  Lendl struggled to break through at the Grand Slams, but once he did at the French Open in 1984, 1985-1987 were displays of dominance.  Aside from imitating Lendl’s demeanor, Lendl’s toughness may also make Murray fear him more than the expectations of Great Britain or than Nadal’s resolve.  That too can only help Murray.

Roddick 7 – Hewitt 7

After 14 matches, Andy Roddick and Lleyton Hewitt are knotted up at 7-7.  This match was a lot like their French Open match in 2001 in which Roddick also had to retire due to an injury.  It would have been great to see another contentious 5 set grudge match a la Wimbledon 2009, but unfortunately injury struck.  I feel for Roddick who put in a lot of road work during the late portions of 2011.  Lleyton Hewitt, who has undergone 5 surgeries in 4 years, has to feel good about being in the round of 32 at a Grand Slam again.  I doubt that we get to see too many more clashes between these two, but this would be an unsatisfying ending to their rivalry so I hope for at least one more match in a big event.

Roddick has a lot to look forward to in 2012 with the Olympics being on grass.  Still, this injury and loss have to be crushing.  Where do things head from here?  If I were Roddick, I might skip the clay court season and just focus on being optimally prepared for Wimbledon, the Olympic games and the US Open.  I am not sure where his career will go after 2012.  I doubt he will retire at the end of the year, but injuries and a declining ranking put him in a tight spot.

For Hewitt, he got a lot of love from the Australian crowd.  Last year, he lost in 5 sets to another contentious rival in David Nalbandian (Rusty has more than a few rivals on tour I guess).  After the loss to Nalbandian, Darren Cahill speculated that 2011 was likely Hewitt’s final Australian Open.  Here he is in 2012 with a giant challenge in front of him in Milos Raonic.  I think Raonic is likely to win the match, but the young Canadian had best be careful not to let Hewitt push the match to a place where the crowd and experience become factors.  Lleyton Hewitt could beat Raonic.  If he does, his reward is likely to be world #1 and defending champion Novak Djokovic.  Win or lose, I have to admire Hewitt’s desire to fight and compete.  He’s got at least one or two main event fights on his hands, and that is just how Lleyton wants it.

Tags: , , , ,

2012 Australian Open Day 3: Nalbandian & the Challenge System

18 Jan

6 Quick Hits

  • Caroline Wozniacki did not look sharp yesterday.  She was lucky to not go 3 sets.
  • Rafael Nadal looks healthy; he also looked healthy in round 1
  • Donald Young is not as far along as some hoped
  • Sam Querrey has to feel good about winning a round and taking a set off of Bernard Tomic.  Sam is a long way from where he was in 2010, but he is back to playing meaningful matches.
  • Ivo Karlovic will face a rested Roger Federer
  • Someone needs to tell Alexandr Dolgopolov he is not being paid by the hour

Overhaul the Challenge System

John Isner recorded a huge 5 set win over David Nalbandian.  Still, the outcome is marred by an umpire’s overrule and refusal to allow for a challenge.  Nalbandian had a legitimate complaint.  The fact is some players do take too long to challenge.  Some players use it as a mini-timeout to break momentum and breathe.  These abuses of the system need to be addressed.

However, in a sport where shots are being hit very hard and human error is part of the equation, to not allow a challenge on an over rule is just bad form.  The line of sight the umpire has is worse than the line judge’s.  That is not to say overrules are not often correct, but if ever there was a case for using shot spot this is it.  Yet, the application of the system failed.

I think an umpire should have a limited number of challenges that he or she can issue during each set.  Sometimes people just don’t know on a call.  At a bare minimum, a player with challenges should be able to contest an overrule no questions asked.  I still think the option for a few non-player requested uses of shot checking technology per set only makes sense.  Players make errors, line judges make errors and umpires make errors.  Removing as many of these errors as possible will only help the sport.

PS – Happy internet protest day

Tags: , ,

2012 Australian Open Day 2 – French Advancement, Harrison and Raonic Impress & Stosur Stumbles

17 Jan

The early rounds of Grand Slam play tend to be a lot of sparring and feeling out from the perspective of an avid fan.  Top players typically advance, but form and attitude are things to gauge.  Day 2 Down Under showed that Novak Djokovic looks healthy.  Given how well this surface meshes with his game, a 3rd title seems quite plausible.  Milos Raonic made short work of his first match.  Quick matches and free points make me think Raonic could be there to challenge Djokovic in the round of 16.  Juan Carlos Ferrero looked poised to pull an upset until the tide turned.  These were all stories a fan could absorb on day 2.

  A Tale of Two Losses

Sam Stosur’s 2011 US Open victory made me think she could be a multi-slam winner.  Stosur has a big serve and a strong forehand.  Her biggest weakness has been her mental game.  A breakthrough win might have helped her to play without pressure and pile up even more results.  The jury is still out on that possibility.  A lot of players throw in a dud after winning a first Grand Slam title.  Still, to lose early on her home turf is not a good sign.  Stosur can play quite well on clay (see Paris 2010), but I think a poor French Open likely points toward a one slam career.  In the current climate of women’s tennis, there is no reason she has to settle for one major, but I sadly think that is where this story is headed.

Ryan Harrison pushed Andy Murray hard for 3 sets.  Harrison played well in fending off multiple break points.  He showed good instincts on the court.  He put some fear into Murray’s twitter fans.  The 4th set was not as close, but in Harrison I think the US has a player who will at least be in the top 20 for multiple years.  Harrison’s loss is a moral victory and a positive sign for his career.  He may not have pulled out come from behind 5 set wins like Dologopolov and Tomic did.  He did not mow down an opponent like Raonic did.  However, none of those guys played Murray in the first round. If Ryan can work on channeling some of his negative energy on court, he could have a great hard court season in 2012.

France Moves Forward

France places a lot of players in the top 50.  French players seem to be well adapted to all surfaces.  Still, France has not had as much Grand Slam success as one might expect.  Jo-Wilfried Tsonga has played great tennis ever since the grass court season of 2011.  Gael Monfils. Gilles Simon and Richard Gasquet all joined Tsonga with first round victories.  This surface should benefit Simon.  Monfils overly defensive style also won’t be harmed by a slower hard court.  Outside of Tsonga, I don’t see France producing a credible threat for the final, but I could see several French players in the second week.

Roddick x Hewitt

Godzilla movies started using X instead of versus for movie titles featuring Japan’s radioactive monster taking on some other behemoth.  This will likely be one of if not the last Grand Slam battle between Andy Roddick and Lleyton Hewitt.  Their 2001 US Open battle was memorable for both the tight score line and the bile that was left on the court.  Hewitt upended Roddick in the 2005 Australian Open semifinal round.  That match also got nasty.  At Wimbledon 2009, Hewitt bristled at Roddick’s suggestion that they were two old married guys.  Hewitt lost in 5 sets and then discounted Roddick’s chances vs. Andy Murray in the semifinal round.  This one should be a treat for long time tennis fans.  My head says Roddick in 3 or 4, but I think Rusty will bring something special and this may go 5.  The winner will likely face Raonic’s Godzilla-like power game in the round of 32.

Tags:

Best Two Time Australian Open Champion (Poll)

17 Jan

Tennis has produced a lot of two time Australian Open champions.  All of the solo winners plus Andre Agassi (4), Roger Federer (4) and Mats Wilander (3) are not eligible, but who was the best player to win the crown twice?

Tags:

Jim Courier The Entrepreneur Former Australian Open Champions Part 2

16 Jan

Jim Courier: the Entrepreneur 

The 1992 and 1993 Australian Open Men’s Champion Jim Courier has been a strong presence in tennis since retiring without  overshadowing active players.  Although Courier made his Grand Slam breakthrough in Paris on red clay, I think the Australian Open best meshed with Courier.  His off season preparation left Courier ideally positioned for solid showings in Melbourne.  The hot conditions and slow court were optimal for his grinding and counter punching.

Courier made his first strong impression Down Under with a tough 5 set loss to then world #1 Stefan Edberg in the 1991 round of 16.  Courier proceeded to beat Edberg in 4 sets en route to his first Grand Slam title at the 1991 French Open.  Edberg won the 1991 rubber match with a decidedly one-sided US Open final.  Courier looked to be in serious trouble when he set up a rematch with Edberg at the 1992 Australian Open.  However, slower courts gave Courier a better look at returns and passing shots.  Courier also used a one handed slice backhand surprisingly well.  Courier prevailed in 4 tight sets to more or less lock up the #1 ranking.  It is easy to forget that in the span of 10 Grand Slams from the French Open 1991 through Wimbledon 1993 Courier won 4 slams and was runner-up at 3 others.  Courier would repeat his victory over Edberg one year later.  His second title also came with a 4 set victory, but Courier dominated the second encounter.  The court was ridiculously hot, but Courier was so fit his level of play did not suffer much in 1993.

Courier would never win in Australia again, but he did reach the semifinal round in 1994.  He lost an instant classic 5 set tilt with Pete Sampras in 1995 and lost another 5 set match to Andre Agassi in 1996.  Courier has been a fixture on Australian television since retiring.  He helped get player contributions to ebay auctions for Tsunami relief in 2005.  This may have been the germination of the 2010 Hit for Haiti.  Courier’s fitness and Harry Hopman influenced style fit Australia well.

Business Ventures

Jim Courier has launched some music related ventures.  However, his 2007 documentary Unstrung chronicled the odd life that elite junior tennis players lead.  It is interesting to me that both Agassi and Courier came up through the cauldron that  was the early tennis academy system in the US.  Each man went on to do a reflective piece on life as a junior tennis player.  Agassi focused on an autobiography and Courier focused on telling the story of younger players.  Courier’s company Inside Out Sports Entertainment missed out on the ESPN 30 for 30 series, but one could easily see Courier doing an insightful program focusing on some little known aspect of tennis.

Inside Out Sports Entertainment also relaunched a senior tennis tour in the United States.  This tour has been flexible enough to transform from a week long tournament based tour to morph into a one night event that gives fans 3 sets of quality tennis with 4 players contesting a mini-tournament.  The longer a match goes the worse the senior players look in comparison to current players.  This adaptation will likely make the senior tour viable for years to come.  Since Roger Federer is technically old enough to play on Courier’s tour (as is Lleyton Hewitt) and Andy Roddick is close to being eligible, Courier can continue the good vibes.

Courier’s post-retirement career also included helping Patrick McEnroe with Davis Cup and eventually becoming the US Davis Cup captain.  Announcing duties, musical ventures, documentaries, and Davis Cup coaching have placed Courier in an interesting spot for former players.  I should add that Courier also taught himself French.  All of this adds up to Courier being the multifaceted renaissance man of tennis.

Tags: ,

We’re Not in Australia Anymore or Are We?

16 Jan

Rafael Nadal Nearly Forfeits?

On the same day that news breaks that Rafael Nadal expressed disdain for Roger Federer’s approach to dealing with the ATP on scheduling issues, Nadal also maintains that he nearly forfeited his first round Australian Open match due to knee issues. Earlier this week Nadal said that he was finally healthy and that this health rekindled his love of tennis.  This quick change might be plausible if it were not for Nadal nearly defaulting at Wimbledon last year against Juan Martin del Potro and leaving Mardy Fish, his quarterfinal opponent, wondering if he had punched his ticket to the semifinal round of tennis’ most prestigious event.  Both Fish and del Potro expressed questions about Nadal’s injuries during and after their matches.

On Day 1 of the Australian Open, Nadal won 6-4, 6-1, 6-1 on one bad wheel.  With a good knee, he probably wins 6-0, 6-1, 6-0.  This melodrama is not serving Nadal or tennis well.  Every week casual sports fans who wonder over to the tennis tab of various websites are treated to a deluge of stories about players pulling out of tournaments due to injuries.  If every other major event has Nadal contemplating pulling out of the tournment and then proceeding to thrash his opponent, it looks like Rafa is playing mind games.  Maybe he genuinely doesn’t feel good, but his macho image would be better served with a little stoicism.

Aussie Philosophy

Legendary Aussie Harry Hopman helped shape Jim Courier’s game and played a role in John McEnroe’s development as well.  Hopman, among others, is credited for variations of this maxim, “If you are injured, you don’t play. If you play, you’re not injured.”  Throw in Ken Rosewall being nicknamed “muscles”, and Nadal could perhaps look to the Aussies for how to approach his nagging and new injuries.

I love Nadal’s heart and effort.  He has been in the spotlight since 2005 or maybe even the Davis Cup final of 2004.  Nadal has won a lot of fans for himself and for tennis.  Still, constant injury chatter undermines his ‘Raging Bull’ persona.  Nadal plays tennis on the court like a man who would crawl across broken glass to win.  If he adopted that demeanor for the off court topic of injuries, Nadal would likely win more fans for himself and for tennis.

Tags: , , ,

Australian Open Day 1 Thoughts

16 Jan

Youngsters Dig Deep or Tomic is Houdini

Bernard Tomic failed to convert 3 set points, including a forehand sitter, late in the 2nd set of his match vs. Fernando Verdasco.  Tomic looked exhausted and dumped the 2nd set tiebreak.  Darren Cahill was discussing Tomic’s need for more fitness and this being a lesson for the young Aussie.

Instead, Tomic opportunistically stayed close in the 3rd set and won the set on a bad service game from Verdasco.  He even admits to playing dead early in the 3rd set making Verdasco think he had given up.  With the help of the Aussie crowd, Tomic rallied to take the match 4-6, 6-7, 6-4, 6-2, 7-5. He may not be a young Jimmy Connors with such a comeback, but it was a serious escape artist victory.

Similarly, Alexandr Dolgopolov rallied from a 2 set deficit to defeat Greg Jones 1-6, 4-6, 6-1, 6-1, 6-2. Grigor Dimitrov also won in 5 sets over Jeremy Chardy. Winning 5 set battles is a big part of growing into a Grand Slam contender.  I think Dimitrov and Tomic can better explain needing 5 sets against talented and/or highly accomplished opponents.  Greg Jones is an unknown to me, but Dolgopolov survived and advanced so good for all 3 of these youngsters.

Delpo, Fish and Young

Sounds like a nice law firm, but all 3 advanced.  Juan Martin del Potro still looks a long way off of his 2009 form, but by advancing he has a chance to play his way into form.  Mardy Fish made short work of Gilles Muller in what had been considered an upset special.  Donald Young won in 5 sets despite dropping his 2 set lead.  Also, Dr. Ivo won in 3 sets over Jurgen Melzer.  Finally, Jarkko Nieminen retired against David Nalbandian.  Jarkko’s tune-up victory had a hint of a nice comeback story.

Post Script

5’6″ Olivier Rochus defeated 5’9″ Bjorn Phau in a match that all parents of athletic yet short of stature children should watch.

Verdasco

Fernando “Hot Sauce” Verdasco’s apparel deserves some thought even if I am the wrong person to consider anything pertaining to fashion.  After tireless research, I uncovered the inspiration for his look.  Check out this link.

Tags: , , ,

Who Will Win the 2012 Men’s Australian Open? (Poll)

15 Jan

I made my picks – your turn.

Tags: ,

← Older Entries
Newer Entries →

Follow

Get every new post delivered to your Inbox.

Join 895 other followers