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French Open Memories: Agassi vs. Courier 1989-1992

4 May

I will be sharing some of my favorite French Open memories between now and the start of the 2013 French Open. My first subject is Andre Agassi versus Jim Courier.  Once upon a time it was rare to see the same players match-up year after year at slams in men’s events.  Jim Courier and Andre Agassi went toe-to-toe in four consecutive French Opens.  The two had a great deal of history and at times disliked one another.  In 1989, 1990 and 1991 Courier felt he had played second fiddle to Agassi.  At their 1992 match in Paris, Agassi seemed unsure of himself as Courier was piling up big wins and holding the number one ranking.  Each man helped to usher in an era of taking the ball early and hitting hard.  Each man saw his success on tour increase as his game rounded out beyond just blasting away.  Courier upped the level of fitness on tour.  Agassi’s long career impacted several generations of junior players.  Agassi also brought a greater use of weight training into tennis despite initial skepticism about this move.  Courier vs. Agassi was a story at Roland Garros over four years.  By the end one man had established dominance in this French Open rivalry, but by 1999 the other would complete a career Grand Slam at Roland Garros.

1989 Bollettieri’s Boys 

Andre Agassi had a huge 1988.  He won six events, finished in the top 5 in the rankings and reached the semifinal round at both Roland Garros and the US Open.  Jim Courier was unknown to casual tennis fans.  Still, the two had grown up together playing at Nick Bollettieri’s tennis boot camp.  Agassi entered the 1989 French Open as a contender.  Courier stood in the way of Agassi reaching the round of 16.  Both players were from the US, were roughly the same age and tried to take the ball early and smack big forehands.  Bollettieri was faced with a choice and sat with Agassi’s camp during their showdown.  Courier proceeded to overpower Agassi over two-days.  The young Floridian announced his presence on tour by winning 7-6, 4-6, 6-3, 6-2.   Michael Chang stole Courier’s thunder by winning the event even if Sports Illustrated gave Courier some love at the midpoint of the event.  Courier blew a lead in the round of 16 and left Bollettieri’s charge shortly after the event.  Courier -1 Agassi – 0

1990 Strength Pays Off

Andre Agassi entered the 1990 French Open as the favorite in the eyes of many because Ivan Lendl was not playing the event and Boris Becker and Stefan Edberg seemed less imposing on red clay than they did on grass.  Agassi had also embraced weight training and looked thicker than his 1988 and 1989 editions.  The draw pitting Courier and Agassi against one another in the round of 16 was intriguing.  It seemed that if anyone would stop Agassi in Paris in 1990 it would be Courier.  Becker and Edberg lost in the first round to some no-names named Goran Ivanisevic and Sergi Bruguera.  Michael Chang couldn’t beat Andre could he?  Maybe Thomas Muster could stop Agassi, but it appeared that Andre was on his way to his first Grand Slam title.  Courier was the only guy with the power to maybe stem Agassi’s momentum.  The match played out like two heavy hitters trading massive shots in the first set with Courier taking a tiebreak set.  Agassi then bullied Courier around the court for the next three sets.  Agassi was well inside the baseline and sent Courier running mercilessly from side to side.  Agassi won the match 6-7, 6-1, 6-4, 6-0.  Andre would beat Michael Chang in a four set quarterfinal and Jonas Svensson in a four set semifinal.  He lost to Andres Gomez in, you guessed it, four sets.  Agassi – 1 Courier -1

1991 Rain and Pain

If Agassi was favored at the 1990 French Open, he was a huge favorite at the 1991 event.  Andre had taken two Grand Slam championship losses in 1990.  Agassi was strong, he had experienced some bitter near misses, he had the ability to take the ball early and control rallies on clay.  In short, experts felt it was his event to lose.  Andre battered his way to his second consecutive final by roughing up Boris Becker 7-5, 6-3, 3-6, 6-1 in the semifinal round.  Jim Courier reached the final by taking out top seed Stefan Edberg in the quarterfinal round 6-4, 2-6, 6-3, 6-4.  He beat the never to beard of again Michael Stich 6-2, 6-7, 6-2, 6-4 to set up a third Roland Garros meeting with Agaasi.

This match was my favorite of their four French Open clashes.  Courier had beaten Agassi at Indian Wells in 1991.  He followed that momentum with an Indian Wells title and a title at Key Biscayne to enter the top 10 in the world.  Courier had also made a nice showing at the 1991 Australian Open by pushing Stefan Edberg to five tough sets.  Agassi was still the favorite as he had won four of their six professional meetings to that point and was seeded fourth to Courier’s ninth.  The dynamic of each man growing up together and not liking each other very much was still present.

Agassi took the first set in what looked like a continuation of their 1990 match.  Courier was good, but Agassi’s ability to see the ball so well and take the ball so early looked to be too much for Courier. Agassi jumped to an early break lead in the second set.  Rain delays and coaching made a big difference in this match.  Andre Agassi claimed in his autobiography Open that Bollettieri said nothing during the rain delays.  Courier’s coach Jose Higueres, who worked with Michael Chang in 1989, advised his charge to stand further back during serve returns to make sure he placed a deep return of serve and pushed Andre Agassi deeper into the court.  Higueres had also worked with Courier on mixing placements and spins and not simply trying hit the ball as hard as possible on every point.  Courier managed to win the match 3-6, 6-4, 2-6, 6-1, 6-4.  Popular perception saw Courier’s fitness regiment, his growing sense of tennis strategy and his professionalism as superior to Agassi’s emphasis on weight training, eating who knows what and Bollettieri inspired blast away mentality.  This trope proved to not be completely accurate, but it was how the rivalry was cast over the next two years.    Courier -2 Agassi-1

1992 Courier in Command

Both men worked their way to the semifinal round of the 1992 French Open to see the other in his path.  Courier followed up his 1991 French Open title with a US Open runner-up finish and 1992 Australian Open title.  Courier achieved the #1 ranking and held two Grand Slam titles entering this match.  Agassi had yet to win a major and whispers were growing that he might never win a major.  Courier struggled a bit with the pressures of being number one in the early portions of 1992, but he was firmly number one after winning three consecutive events entering the 1992 French Open.  Courier’s 1992 run to the title included wins over an impressive array of opponents.  He beat Andrei Medvedev, Aleberto Mancini, Thomas Muster, Goran Ivanisevic, Andre Agassi and Petr Korda in succession to take the title. Agassi entered this match with a lot of talent, but not a lot of confidence.  Courier hammered Agassi 6-3, 6-2, 6-2 in a match that failed to live up to the hype.  Anyone watching saw a player with a bigger serve, greater fitness, a better grasp of strategy, and a higher level of mental fortitude methodically take apart his opponent.  Agassi would of course take his first Grand Slam title one month later at Wimbledon.  Courier then beat Agassi in a testy four set US Open quarterfinal in 1992 in a match featuring the two Grand Slam champions to that point in 1992.  Courier – 3 Agassi 1

Final Thought

Courier and Agassi are now friends who play exhibitions on a frequent basis.  The notions that Courier would be another Jimmy Connors playing deep into his thirties never materialized.  Agassi’s superior hand-eye coordination along with his growing sense of tennis strategy and tactics led to him having the longer career of the two. Nick Bollettieri also shed the image that he knew nothing about tennis and could not coach by guiding a myriad of players to success.

I rooted for Courier in all four of these clashes.  I was thrilled to see Courier breakthrough in 1989 (I had heard of him prior to this match), to see him rally in 1991 and to see him dominate Agassi in 1992.  I also watched in horor as Agassi laid a beating on Courier in 1990.  The great thing about a rivalry that produces a lot of matches is that a fan can pick a side and enjoy.  I also played junior tennis during the height of this rivalry so I got to see how average players embraced aspects of Agassi and Courier’s games and habits.  I have never seen as many baseball caps on a tennis court as I did at the 1991 Joe Creason USTA Southern qualifying event in Louisville, Kentucky that took place at the same time as the 1991 French Open.

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Who Needs a 5th Major?

26 Mar

Four or Five or?

The Indian Wells-Miami section of the tour is a great stretch for tennis fans.  Most of the top players on the ATP and WTA play both events and great matches abound.  It also leads to talk of a “Fifth Major” status for one or the other event.  This talk is not limited to these two locales.  Many people claim the Italian Open or Masters Roma is the fifth major.  During Olympic years, the winner of the gold medal is often discussed as having won the fifth most important event of the year.  What about the World Tour Finals/Masters Cup/ATP World Championships/Masters held at the end of each season?  Is it the fifth most important tournament?  Doesn’t BNP Paribas, who now sponsors Indian Wells, also sponsor and have longer ties with the Bercy in the fall?  Is it then the fifth major?

Does Monte Carlo get Consideration or is it a Masters Emeritus?

Hypothetical Rules for a Permanent 5th Major Designation

  1. The World Tour Finals Despite Offering the Most Computer Points Outside of the Slams is a Different Animal so the WTF is not a Major 
  2. During Olympic Years – The Gold Medalist Holds the 5th Major
  3. During Non-Olympic Years the Tournament with the Best Draw, Best Amenities and Highest Prize Money is the 5th Major
  4. Ignore the Defunct Volvo International and WCT Finals in Dallas Having Once Been Prestigious
  5. Ignore the Growth of Tennis in Asia Despite China having 5th Major Potential

More Trouble than it is Worth

I’d rather listen to “A Fifth of Beethoven” than figure out what is the 5th most important tournament.  The Grand Slams have some normative status.  If a player, like the young Agassi, skipped Wimbledon for several years, it would still be Wimbledon.    Carlos Moya won the Masters Roma title in 2004 and won Masters Cincinnati in 2002.  Moya likely places his Rome title just below his 1998 Roland Garros title and Spain’s 2004 Davis Cup win.  Andy Roddick would likely value his Masters Miami, Canada and Cincinnati titles more than any clay court title outside of the French Open.  Views on the most important titles shift a great deal depending upon a player’s surface preference.

For better or worse, all four Grand Slams have importance that is a given at least since Pete Sampras made breaking Roy Emmerson’s record a public goal.   It is great that Indian Wells is voted as a player favorite venue right now, but that does not confer upon it an added quality to my mind.  It is a great tournament and should just work at staying that way.  Indianapolis was praised in John Feinstein’s book Hard Courts that chronicled the tour in 1990.*  Indianapolis was sponsored by RCA at that time, and players loved the event due to having access to virtual reality and other audio visual prototypes that RCA was developing.  Less than 25 years later, the Indianapolis Tennis Center is now gone, as in plowed under, and a basketball arena sits in its place.  So long as Indian Wells and Key Biscayne/Miami keep holding great tennis events and don’t get plowed under, I will be happy.

Better Days for Tennis in Indianapolis

* – Feinstein referred to Key Biscayne/Miami as the 5th major in 1990.  Therefore if  Indian Wells is now the 5th major, it stands to reason that this title is a short term distinction at best.

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Who is the Best Australian Open Champion? POLL

28 Jan

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Tennis Impersonations: A History

24 Dec


Alpha?

Omega?

The recent controversy about Caroline Wozniacki’s impersonation of Serena Williams got me thinking about the history of impersonating a player’s ticks or idiosyncrasies.  My mind initially thought that  Jonas Bjorkman was the progenitor of this fad.  His rain delay US Open fodder of lighthearted imitations did indeed pave the way to Djokovic’s 2007 US Open impersonation tour.   However, a more contentious and longer history came into my mind the more I thought about the topic.  It is doubtful that Rod Laver ever impersonated John Newcombe, but since the late 1980′s impersonations have popped up and generally engendered bad feelings.

1988 – Boris Becker Imitates and Gets Imitated by Pat Cash

Boris Becker won Wimbledon in 1985 and 1986.  Pat Cash was the defending champion having claimed the title in 1987.  Their 1988 quarterfinal round battle lived up to the hype, but not because of the tennis.  Becker won the match routinely 6-4, 6-3, 6-4.  Here is how Mitch Album described the memorable events on June 30, 1988:

Well. Let us take you to the second set Wednesday: Becker was leading, 4-1, and Cash came charging, hit a volley winner — and fell over the net.

Fell over the net? Yes. And Becker got so excited, he somersaulted over the net as well. Wheee. Are we having fun, or what? Now we had two guys on the wrong side. Becker was kidding. He offered his hand. Cash was serious. He offered his thoughts.

“What did he say?” someone asked Becker.

“I don’t think I should repeat it,” Becker said. “He taught me some new words in English.”

And the girls screamed. Cash wigs out after losing

But wait. Before you castigate Cash for being a poor sport, let us take you now to the post-game press conference — after Becker had humbled Cash in two hours and 17 minutes. Everyone figured the moody, broody Australian wouldn’t show, right? He had just lost his title.

But here he came, wearing a red punk-rock wig, all spikes and points. The kind that makes you look like Son of Porcupine.

1988 – Agassi Ticks off Connors and McEnroe Simultaneously

Andre Agassi’s first US Open tilt with Jimmy Connors was seen as a passing of the torch as Agassi would assume the mantle as the top US born player.  John McEnroe was watching as well.  At some point during the match, Agassi imitated McEnroe’s serving motion, an act that infuriated Johnny Mac.  Agassi’s post-match comments angered Connors into making a biting paternity joke.  Agassi did win the match 6-2, 7-6, 6-1.

1989 – Boris Becker gets Imitated by McEnroe

Boris Becker defeated John McEnroe in an epic Davis Cup encounter in Hartford, Connecticut in 1987 4-6, 15-13, 8-10, 6-2, 6-2.  Even before that match, McEnroe and Becker had exchanged tense words and stares dating back to their first match.  McEnroe’s autobiography You Cannot Be Serious describes their relationship as generally being that of friendly rivals.  At times, tensions did boil over.  McEnroe saw fit to challenge perceived gamesmanship on Becker’s part during their semifinal encounter at the 1989 Paris Indoor. McEnroe loudly coughed in response to Boris Becker’s characteristic cough.  At a changeover, Becker asked for compassion, and McEnroe retorted that Becker had been sick since 1985.  McEnroe calling Becker out for gamesmanship in this manner did not endear him to the crowd and helped inspire Becker to a 7-6, 3-6, 6-3 victory.  McEnroe even recounted that this event led to a post-match argument with his first wife.

1998 – Andre Agassi Mocks Karol Kucera

Karol Kucera had a great season in 1998.  He reached an Australian Open semifinal and a US open quarterfinal.  Along the way, Kucera dispatched of Andre Agassi in the 1998 US Open round of 16 6-3, 6-3, 6-7, 1-6, 6-3.  Kucera’s return of serve and ability to change the pace and direction of the ball during a rally mystified Agassi.  Head games were the only thing that made this match close.  Agassi, irritated by either the scoreline or Kucera’s frequently errant service toss, began to imitate a Kucera.  Agassi timidly approached the service line and mockingly attempted to toss the ball.  Beyond that, Agassi hit moonballs to his upstart opponent.  These tactics unnerved Kucera and helped the match extend to 5 sets.  Personally, this is the lowest moment of tennis imitations that I can remember.  Agassi was simply trying to throw his opponent off through mockery.

The Sampras-Agassi Hit for Haiti Debacle

The first Hit or Haiti was an unqualified success.  Major world athletes threw together an enjoyable charity event without the meddling hands of sponsors and agents.  It was a feel good event.  When Pete Sampras and Andre Agassi were added to the mix for a sequel charity doubles match, things looked great, right?  Who would not want to see all-court maestro’s Roger Federer and Pete Sampras take on two men who revolutionized backcourt tennis in Andre Agassi and Rafael Nadal?  It did not live up to the hype.

“That aint personal.” (?)

Sampras and Agassi already had some bad blood from Agassi’s recently published autobiography Open.  Agassi did not take Sampras’ imitation well and threw out a tasteless imitation implying that Pete is cheap.  Sampras went head hunting, and Agassi still pressed his claim of Sampras’ stinginess.

Lessons?

Boris Becker attempted a funny net dive when playing Pat Cash and was repaid by Cash wearing an ugly red wig?!?!  John McEnroe’s impersonation of Becker helped to inspire his opponent to victory and started an argument with his then wife.  Andre Agassi angered or incited John McEnroe and Karol Kucera with impersonations.  Agassi responded badly to Pete Sampras impersonating him.  This spiraled to a tit for tat impersonation that managed to ruin a fundraiser for a natural disaster.  Caroline Wozniacki, as well as Andy Roddick and Novak Djokovic, have made questionable imitations of Serena Williams’ body-type.

My advice is that unless an impersonation serves a purpose and is obviously approved of by the player being mimicked (a la Djokovic’s take on Guga) to not do imitations.  My main reason for saying this is not that charitable events or marriages might be threatened.  My advice for not doing imitations stems from the fact that impersonations have been done to death and are not terribly comical (Gustavo Djokovic aside).  If comedy is not funny, what is it?

The Exception that Proves the Rule? (No Impersonations Unless They are This Funny?)

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Olympic Tennis Review: 1996 Better than It had a Right to Be

25 Jul

1992 Fallout 

Tennis in 1996 suffered despite being a logical tune-up for the US Open as the tennis events were held on hard courts in Atlanta, Georgia.  Still, 7 of the top 10 men did not play the event.  Andre Agassi was the #1 seed, but he was fresh off of a Wimbledon loss to Doug Flach (spellcheck keeps wanting to change his name to Doug Flash and losing to The Flash would be less humbling).  Unseeded Jonas Bjorkman drew Agassi in the first round. Bjorkman had a break out singles season in 1997 and lost a tight match to Agassi 7-6, 7-6.  Had that result reversed these games might have fallen to pieces as the tennis facility was not close to the main Olympic facilities in Atlanta.  As tennis crazy as Atlanta is, a loss by Agassi may have killed fan attendance.  Still, the draw was soft on the men’s side of things.  Steffi Graf chose not to play the event, but the women’s draw was solid.  The Atlanta games would be the first of the modern era to have a bronze medal match of the losing semifinalists rather than awarding 2 bronze medals.

Lindsay Davenport Takes Gold 

Davenport did not start winning major events until the 1998 US Open, but the 1996 Olympics foreshadowed a stellar career for Lindsay.  She worked her way through a tough draw and beat Jana Novotna and Aranxta Sanchez-Vicario in the medal rounds.  Jana Novotna took the bronze medal match by beating Mary Joe Fernandez.  Sanchez-Vicario added to her medal haul from 1992 with a silver medal in singles and a bronze medal in doubles with Conchita Martinez.  Jana Novotna picked up a silver medal in doubles with Helena Sukova.  Mary Joe Fernandez lost in the bronze medal match in singles, but defended her 1992 gold medal in doubles with Gigi Fernandez.  Monica Seles was the top seed, but she lost a tight 3 set match to Novotna in the quarterfinal round.  Women’s tennis saw a trend of players compiling multiple medals in the 3 modern instances of tennis as an Olympic sport.

Where Were the Top Men?

A weak draw led to the men’s event looking anemic.  Andre Agassi won gold and this alone helped to prop up the event.  However, Agassi’s form in 1996 was a far cry from what he demonstrated in the late stages of 1994 and most of 1995.  Second seeded Goran Ivanisevic lost in the first round.  The man who upset Jim Courier at Wimbledon 1992, Andrei Olhovskiy, resurfaced more than four year later to reach the quarterfinal round.  Agassi beat Leander Paes and Sergi Bruguera in the medal rounds to take the gold.  Bruguera won the French Open in 1993 and 1994.  Having him contest the gold medal with Andre Agassi, who at that time had won 3 major titles, gave the gold medal match more legitimacy than the draw might have suggested.

The men’s event in Atlanta has to be remembered as much for other medals awarded on the men’s side as it is for Agassi beating Bruguera.  Leander Paes was an entertaining revelation.  For him to claim a bronze medal and help popularize tennis coming from a country with 1 billion people was and is a big deal.  Tim Henman won a silver medial for the UK in doubles.  Mark Woodforde and Todd Woodbridge took home gold in doubles.

Final Verdict – Things Somehow Worked Out 

With no disrespect to Marc Rosset, Olympic medals tend to be won by people at the top of a given sport.  Tennis being a single elimination format is not going to hold form every time, but Agassi winning gold sounded right to casual tennis fans.  The top men’s doubles team winning gold made sense.  The women’s events maintained a sense of order while producing a future star in Lindsay Davenport.  Leander Paes’ hands amazed fans and opponents alike.  Atlanta restored some momentum to Olympic tennis that was lost in 1992.

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Tennis History: Nadal and Sharapova

14 Jun

A Trip Inside my Unofficial Historical Tennis Rankings

The 2012 French Open is in the books.  Sadly, the quick transition to grass rarely allows for the full impact of this event to be appreciated until later in the year.  Still, Rafael Nadal and Maria Sharapova made a great deal of history.  Here is a quick look at what I think each player’s win meant to each player’s legacy.

Rafael Nadal is At Worst the 3rd Most Decorated Post-Laver Champion

*

Certainly Nadal can be reasonably argued to be ahead of Pete Sampras and Roger Federer in terms of his legacy.  I think one can reasonably argue that Sampras and Federer are ahead of Nadal’s legacy.  I do not think Bjorn Borg is still in this mix.  I already felt Nadal was ahead of Borg due to his 2009 Australian Open title, 2010 US Open title and 2008 Olympic Gold Medal victories all being achieved on hard courts.  Borg did reach 6 consecutive Wimbledon final matches and did win 5 consecutive Wimbledon titles.  Rafa has won 2 Wimbledon titles, been a Wimbledon runner-up 3 times and won the 2008 Queen’s Club title.  Rafa is behind Borg in terms of grass court accomplishments, but he is distinctly ahead on clay and quite far ahead on hard courts.  Admittedly, more hard court opportunities exist today, but I would argue that Nadal’s tennis legacy is now ahead of Borg’s.

Beyond that, Nadal joins Pete Sampras as the only male players of the Open Era to win the same major 7 times.  Nadal’s clay court dominance surpasses’ Sampras’ mastery of grass due to Sampras losing matches at Wimbledon to Goran Ivanisevic and Richard Krajicek during his prime as well as losses at various Queen’s Club outings.  Nadal has owned Paris, Rome, Monte Carlo and Barcelona.

Maria Sharapova Wins a Career Grand Slam

*

The career Grand Slam is slightly more common in women’s tennis than in men’s, but Sharapova winning all 4 majors in her career is big for her legacy.  Her comeback from being ranked outside of the top 100 is more impressive to me than Agassi’s comeback from his 1997 implosion because falling out of the top 100 in the women’s game is harder to do.  Can she win at the rate Agassi did from 1999-2005?  Who knows, but the act of coming back to number 1 after such a long break is a testament to hard work.  Maria’s career slam places her legacy ahead of players such as Arantxa Sanchez-Vicario, Kim Clijsters, and Martina Hingis.  Sharapova is in the mix of the best players in the Post-Graf-Seles Era behind Serena Williams, Venus Williams and Justine Henin.  I think Maria could reasonably pass Venus and Justine’s legacies.  It just depends on how long she plays and how healthy she remains.

* We also find out what Fred Stolle is doing these days

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2012 Men’s French Open Final: #1 Novak Djokovic versus #2 Rafael Nadal – Can Godzilla Be Stopped?

9 Jun
  

This match is what every tennis fan has been wanting since the conclusion of the 2012 Australian Open.  Nadal pushed Djokovic for nearly 6 hours (6 hours!) in Melbourne.  Can Rafa reverse the tide of 3 consecutive Grand Slam final losses to Novak?  If Monte Carlo and Rome’s results are to be taken seriously, the answer is yes.  If Nadal’s history in Paris is considered, the answer is yes.  In fact, Nadal is the clear favorite in this match despite Nole’s 27 consecutive Grand Slam match wins and 3-0 record versus Rafa in slams during that stretch.

History: Rafa vs. Borg & Nole vs. Laver

Eclipsed?  A commentator on NBC mentioned Rafa having a chance to eclipse Bjorn Borg if he wins the French Open.  This seems kind of like saying a Siberian Tiger eclipses a Bengal Tiger in size.  Still, Nadal owning the most French Open crowns is a unique opportunity for Rafa.

I think Novak Djokovic being the reigning champion at all 4 majors would be there greatest accomplishment in tennis history.  That is all Nole has on the line during the final.

Beyond all of this, Novak can complete a career Grand Slam.  Novak has joined Rod Laver and Andre Agassi for stringing together 4 consecutive Grand Slam finals.  Rafael Nadal is in sole possession of the 3rd best streak of Grand Slam finals with 5 consecutive.  Roger Federer still owns the best streak of 10 and second best streak of 8 consecutive Grand Slam finals.

Why Novak Could Win: Does He Have an Oxygen Destroyer?

I tweeted this at the outset of the French Open,  ”Beating Nadal on clay is like beating Godzilla.  Sure someone might invent an oxygen destroyer, but the odds are against it.”  If anyone has the tennis equivalent of an oxygen destroyer it is Novak.  I think Nole can win if he serves bigger than Rafa and then is willing to pay the price and play a lot of long points.  The reason I say this is that Novak is still the best returner of serve in the world.  This is an edge he could exploit and break serve often enough to win the match.

Why Rafa Could Win: Clay Court GOAT

I am not sure I need to answer this.  Rafa destroyed Juan Monaco who is a top flight clay court player.  Rafa dominated David Ferrer the #6 player in the world.  Rafa is dismantling people on clay this year.  He is also the greatest clay court player of all time.

 Who Wins?

I am going out on a limb here and picking Novak Djokovic.  If he is willing to pay the price, he can win this match.  I think Novak has been pointing toward this opportunity since winning the Australian Open.  I am not going to read anything into Novak’s 2012 losses to Andy Murray and John Isner.  I think Rafa soundly beat Novak in Monte Carlo and Rome.  My pick is based upon the idea that Novak knew he only has one clay court war in his body.  I think he has saved it for this match.  That does not mean Novak will win, but I do think this will be more of a war than Rome or Monte Carlo were.  Logic says that Rafa wins, but I am a nut for tennis history and may be clouded by my desire for seeing something sublime occur.

My Pick Novak Djokovic in 4 Sets

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Rare Species: 90′s Style Tennis

6 May

Endangered Species

While I do not feel as rare as the East African Bongo (pictured above), I was watching some top junior players in my region hitting.  They all hit with extreme grips, generated a lot of topspin and hit two-handed backhands that were slightly different from the form I observed as a kid (I have hit a one-handed backhand for all but two weeks of my tennis life).  It was great to see young players who love tennis hitting the ball as hard as they were.

It was also a bit jarring.  Certainly in the 1990s, a lot of players had patterned their games after Andre Agassi, Jim Courier or Michael Chang.  Still, Pete Sampras, Boris Becker, Stefan Edberg, Patrick Rafter, Michael Stich and others gave templates for one-handed players who built their game around their serves.  I fell into this category.  My first year of regularly playing matches with neighborhood friends was an exercise on how to lose.  However, once I learned to serve with some acumen in the seventh grade, I routinely beat my friends, did well in leagues and began to play tournaments.  I hit big serves, moved forward, volleyed well and generally played a clean style of tennis.  As I moved into high school and larger pools of opponents, I did not always meet with success, but my game was fairly straight forward.  Win or lose, I was going to serve pretty big and get to the net during my matches.

My one-handed backhand at that age was a liability because I could really only slice the ball unless an ideal situation arose for driving though the ball.  By the time I was in college, I was strong enough to have really good versatility on my backhand wing.  In the early part of the 2000′s I was living in a remote location, but a man from Spain lived near me and we played tennis four or five days per week for a solid year (even in very cold weather). His topspin based game helped me round out my game and become a more all court player.  Still, I generally beat him.  I did so because I was willing to serve and volley and willing to chip and charge.  He said as much when I eventually moved ending our one year run of singles competition.  He told me he had to learn to come forward as well.

Edberg vs. Muster 1994

I love this clip because it captures two very different approaches for constructing and winning points. 

Where You Are the Endangered Species

That was the tagline for the very mediocre film adaptation of the novel Congo.  Watching these juniors, I thought my grips, my court positioning, my backhand and my general approach to tennis is anathema to how they play.  I do not begrudge the pros for turning away from more net centric styles of tennis.  The percentages just are not there.  However, I am not convinced that the average junior player or club player has the hand eye coordination or racquet head speed to really push an opponent off of the net.  Regardless of the racquets and strings available to an average player, he or she is average just like me.

That makes me think forward moving styles of tennis are still quite viable.  I have had a chance to hit for a few minutes here and there with junior players this year.  The one shot that they struggle with the most is my one-handed slice backhand.  I hit the shot reasonably well, but it is also a shot they never see.  Therefore, the advantage of unorthodoxy or the element of surprise alone should keep players like me who honed their games in the 1990s or prior happy to maintain our style of play.  Throw in that an attacking player knows what to expect from almost every younger player and that younger players are not used to hitting passing shots or lobs, and the future just gets brighter for a style that is seemingly obsolete.  I just got my preferred racquets restrung, and I was cracking serves like it was 1993.  I simply say that if tennis that focuses on getting to the net is a dinosaur, it is the job of practitioners of attacking tennis to be Jurassic Park.

The Law of Eternal Recurrence?

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Graf and Agassi Among Many Athletes and Celebs at Kentucky Derby Party

5 May

Steffi Graf and Andre Agassi along with Tom Brady, many University of Kentucky athletes including NCAA POY Anthony Davis, Aasron Rodgers, Bode Miller, and Terry O’Quinn from Lost (John Locke).

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Youtube Tennis for March 20 – March 24

20 Mar

1. Steffi Graf’s 1988 Golden Slam

2.  Jim Courier vs. Andre Agassi at the 1991 French Open

3.  Guga Kuerten vs. Pete Sampras at Miami 2000

4.  Guga vs. Agassi – 2000 Year End Championships

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