Slideshow: GR8 Friends For Japan Fundraiser

by Craig Hickman


All photos by JD Blom for Tennis Panorama News

From what I hear, it's not often media is invited to sit down for dinner at an event such as this. As another photographer said while cutting through her tender filet mignon, "I fully expect we're going to get kicked out of here shortly." But Natalie Mikolich, the publicity director for the event, made sure the media she invited got to enjoy a delicious three-course dinner featuring:

House Salad of Mesclun wrapped in Shaved Cucumber with Mandarin Oranges, Candied Walnuts, Cherry and Yellow Pear Yomatoes, and Dried Cranberries Drizzled with lemon oil

Surf and Turf featuring Filet Mignon in Red Wine Reduction, Seared Sea Bass, Mashed Potates, and Petite Vegetable Medley with Micro Greens

Chocolate Ganache Coated Three-Layer Cheesecake with Marzipan and Cocoa adorned with Fresh Raspberries

As for the rest of the event, the photos and videos speak for themselves, no?

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Oh. I forgot to mention the Hors d'œuvres:

Salmon Tartare on Roasted Corn Crackers

Grilled Lamb Skewers

Foie Gras Mousse on Toast Points

Beef Wellington Bites

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Cross-posted to Tennis Panorama News

For photos from the live tweets, click here.

Australian Open 2011 Men's Semifinals Preview

BY MAD PROFESSAH

Here are my predictions for the 2011 Australian Open men's semifinals. I had previously correctly predicted 2 of 4 men's quarterfinals.

Rafael Nadal ESP (1) David Ferrer ESP (7) vs. Andy Murray GBR (5). Everyone expected a Murray-Nadal semifinal, and many many tennis fans were salivating at the prospect of seeing a match of the same caliber as their superlative ATP World Tour Championships semifinal in London. Murray did his piece first, by dispatching the extremely talented Aleksandr Dolgopolov of Ukraine who had eliminated Robin Soderling and Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in 5-set matches by coming from behind to win those contests. Dolgopolov plays in an unorthodox fashion, with quick, whip-like strokes, but this generates tremendous (and surprising) power on both wings; he also has a truly unusual serve which allows him to get several free points, even from someone as good at returning serve as Andy Murray.

In the first set the younger player had 12 aces to Murray's two and was hitting winners into both corners of the court. Essentially, he was "out-Murraying" Murray. Unfortunately for Dolgopolov his quirky style is sometimes combined with an almost laissez-faire approach to finishing a point which resulted in errors instead of winners on balls that MadProfessah could have put away. These lapses enabled Murray to eke out the first set 7-5 (after blowing a 4-1 lead). The second set featured tremendous serving from Murray, losing only two points on his serve for a 6-3 win. The third set Murray should have closed out the match, but Dogopolov was able to climb back to win the 3rd in a tiebreaker 7-3 after horrendous play by Murray in the decider. The final set was never much in doubt with Murray winning the first fourteen points and the Dogopolov errors accumulating until he was at a total of 77 for the match compared to a showy 57 winners. Murray had a more sedate 33 winners and 34 errors and won the final set 6-3.

The drama of the Murray-Dolgopolov quarterfinal was quickly eclipsed when the two Spaniards took the court. After a quick service hold by Ferrer to start the match, Nadal's first service game lasted 17 minutes and consisted of 22 points with 7 deuces. Ferrer was playing very aggressively, especially with his forehand and service return; he was running down shots which would have been winners against almost anyone else. Eventually Ferrer was able to get the break, which he then immediately gave back through strong play by Nadal. On the changeover it became clear something was very wrong with Nadal, and he left the court to take an injury time out and receive treatment. It looked very much like he would retire at various points in the first set after that. Amazingly he had retired in a match played exactly a year before, in the men's quarterfinal of 2010 against Murray, also played on Australia Day, January 26. However, Nadal soldiered on and Ferrer continued his style of aggressive play, taking advantage of Nadal's clearly limited movement to his forehand side (Nadal's left thigh was heavily strapped) and maintained his composure to complete the stunning 6-4 6-2 6-3 straight sets win over the defending Roland Garros, Wimbledon and US Open champion.

Rafa's quest to be the first man in a generation (or two) to simultaneously hold all 4 major titles was over. The reason I have spent so much time reviewing the quarterfinal matches instead of previewing the semifinal match is because there is not much to say. Head-to-head Ferrer and Murray have met 5 times, (never in a Grand Slam) with Murray winning all their hard court matches relatively easily and Ferrer winning the clay court matches. Murray was able to reach the final last year, and he is playing even better one year later. Ferrer is also playing better, but, barring an injury, the result of their next hard court match will not be any different from the other three they have played before. PREDICTION: Murray in 4 sets.

Roger Federer SUI (2). vs. Novak Djokovic SRB (3). This semifinal match-up is a reprise of the four celebrated grand slam semifinals these two have competed: the 2010 US Open semifinal won by Djokovic after saving two match points in the 5th set; the 2009 US Open semifinal won by Federer which featured the amazing tweener shot by the Swiss great on the penultimate point of the match; the 2008 US Open semifinal won in straight sets by Federer despite trailing in the first two; and the 2008 Australian Open semifinal won by Djokovic on his way to winning his first major title. So, despite Federer's impressive 13-6 head-to-head edge overall, the two have actually split the four hard-court major semifinals they have played in their careers. Bizarrely, they have never played at Wimbledon or at Roland Garros. It should be noted that Federer has won the last three times they have played, and has apparently taken energy from his defeat in New York last year. Djokovic is also playing inspired tennis, having achieved one of his career goals by anchoring his country to a Davis Cup title (something Federer has not done despite having someone as talented as Stan Wawrinka on his team). Of the four players left remaining in the tournament, Djokovic and Murray have both only dropped one tie-break set each. Djokovic in particular has looked the most impressive, taking out the #6 (Tomas Berdych), #14(Nicolas Almagro) and #29 seeds. The highest seed that Federer has had to face was Wawrinka at #19 but Gilles Simon in the first round was playing like a Top 10 player when he stretched the World #2 to 5 sets. To determine my pick, I'm going to try an do some math. There are three possibilities, which I will assume are equally likely to occur (3-set, 4-set and 5-set match with 33% probabilities). If only 3 sets of tennis are played I give Federer a 25-8 edge. In a 4-set match I give Djokovic a 17-16 edge. In a 5-set match I give Djokovic a 25-8 edge. So overall, Djokovic has a 50-49 edge. I split the last point equally and this gets Djokovic slightly ahead to reach his second Australian Open final, and second consecutive major final. PREDICTION: Djokovic (has a 50.5% chance to win).

Australian Open 2011 Men's Quarterfinal Preview

BY MAD PROFESSAH


Reuters

From top row left to right: Rafael Nadal of Spain, Roger Federer of Switzerland, Novak Djokovic of Serbia, Andy Murray of Britain. From bottom row left to right: Tomas Berdych of the Czech Republic, David Ferrer of Spain, Stanislas Wawrinka of Switzerland and Alexandr Dolgopolov of Ukraine.

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Here are my predictions for the men's quarterfinals at the 2011 Australian Open.

Rafael Nadal ESP (1) vs. Milos Raonic CAN David Ferrer ESP (7). I thought that the 6'6" 2010 Australian Open semifinalist from Croatia would have followed up on his 5-set win over John Isner with a better showing against Rafael Nadal. However, the World No. 1 came out with a strong game plan since Cilic had beaten him in their one meeting in October 2009 and dismantled the Croatian in straight sets 6-2 6-4 6-3. David Ferrer has been called the best service returner in the world by both Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal and he demonstrated that ability against the huge serving 20-year-old, 6-foot-5-inch Canadian. Ferrer is only 5'9" but has optimized the amount of tennis success a male player can extract from such a slight frame. He is also one of the fittest players on tour and very speedy. The problem is, everything he can do, Nadal can do better, and Nadal is a lefty. Head-to-head the two have played 14 times with the more celebrated Spaniard winning all but 3 of their meetings. Ferrer does have a notable win over Nadal in the 2007 US Open quarterfinals, but unfortunately he will be playing the vastly improved 2011 version. The difference will be very clear. PREDICTION: Nadal in 3 sets.

Robin Soderling SWE (4) Alexandr Dolgopolov UKR vs. Andy Murray GBR (5). The only unseeded player in the final 8 is the 22-year-old counterpuncher from Ukraine. From the way World No. 4 Robin Soderling was dismissing his opponents and hitting the ball in first three rounds I had expected him to have few problems getting past Dolgopolov but Soderling has never done well at the Australian Open and also doesn't like to play in windy conditions. That being said, the biggest problem he had on court was not the weather but the phenomenal defense and gigantic serving of the Ukrainian. Soderling was not playing his best tennis and ran into an opponent who could take advantage of this opportunity to reach his first major quarterfinal. Andy Murray has been playing some of the sharpest tennis of any of the legitimate contenders. He demolished crafty lefty Jurgen Melzer and has yet to lose more than 3 games in a set through four rounds! Melzer at No. 11 and Guillermo Garcia Lopez at No. 32 are the only seeded players the Brit has faced on his way to an inevitable showdown with World No. 1 Rafael Nadal in the semifinals, whom he was on track to dismiss in the quarterfinals last year when Nadal retired. Of course the Spaniard went on to win every other Grand Slam for the rest of 2010, but I think that Murray does not fear Nadal on a hard-court. Will we see a reprise of the 2010 Australian Open final between Murray and Federer or a reprise of the 2009 Australian Open final between Nadal and Federer or something else? Only time will tell. PREDICTION: Murray in 3 sets.

Tomas Berdych CZE (6) vs. Novak Djokovic SRB (3). This should be the best battle of the quarterfinal round, a showdown between the 2010 Wimbledon finalist and the 2010 US Open finalist. Djokovic has won this title before (over Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in 2008) although the Frenchman was able to get revenge last year in this round. Head-to-head Berdych has only beaten Djokovic once, but it was a blowout in the 2010 Wimbledon semifinals. Since then, the Serbian has had multiple breakthroughs, including an epic 2010 US Open semifinal win over Roger Federer and anchoring his country to their first ever Davis Cup title. Berdych played near-perfect tennis in a tremendous 3-set dismissal of Fernando Verdasco in the 4th round (featuring a final set where the Czech was crushing the ball and had either 1 or 2 unforced errors). If Berdych plays like that, even a prodigiously talented ball-striker and mellifluously mobile player as Djokovic will have trouble surviving the onslaught. Another factor is that Djokovic's results are often sensitive to the weather conditions; if this match is played during the day then even a 3-set win will be unlikely for the Serb. PREDICTION: Djokovic in 3 sets or Berdych in 4 or 5 sets.

Stanislas Wawrinka SUI (19) vs. Roger Federer SUI (2). These two are best friends and share a lot in common: they come from the same country, are both young fathers and are both undefeated in 2011 so far. Together they won the Gold medal in men's doubles at the Beijing Olympics in 2008. Head-to-head the two have played 7 times, with Wawrinka winning once on clay. They have only played once in a grand slam, with Federer winning that as well. Wawrinka has come up with some good upsets in the last two Slams (defeating Andy Roddick and Gael Monfils in this tournament and Andy Murray and Sam Querrey in the 2010 US Open) but I doubt that storyline will continue with the defending champion. This match should feature some exquisite one-handed backhands: my favorite shot! PREDICTION: Federer in 4 sets.

Inaugural Champions

by Craig Hickman

Hat's off to the year's first crowned.


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Robin Söderling of Sweden is reflected in the winners trophy as he celebrates 6-3, 7-5 victory against Andy Roddick of the USA, during day eight of the Brisbane International at Queensland Tennis Centre on January 9, 2011 in Brisbane, Australia.

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I decided not to wait until the delayed match, so I watch the final live online. All I can say for Roddick is that if he doesn't commit to playing aggressive tennis, and I don't mean rushing the net for his transition game is still lacking, but hitting the ball hard and going for winners off both wings as he did, say, to win Miami last year, 2011 is going to be another Big Disappointment. It may be the first year in forever that he fails to win a title.

As for the Big Swede, there's no ball he doesn't want to crack open. The big wind ups, the flat shots, the improving accuracy. He, too, can improve his transition game, but he was in full control of the match from the first ball. He stood on the baseline, controlled the middle of the court, and made Roddick look as though he didn't even belong across the net.

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Petra Kvitova of the Czech Republic holds the trophy after defeating Andrea Petkovic of Germany in the women's final at the Brisbane International tennis tournament, in Brisbane on January 8, 2011. Kvitova won the final 6-1, 6-3.

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I love it when one of my Gonad Award winners from the previous season impresses at the start of the new year. Petra's swinging serves, her bullet groundstrokes, her improved court sense and patience and movement. Her composure. I already knew she could outhit 99% of the women on tour, but now she's backing it up with consistency. 2011 could be a great year for her.

And then there's Andrea, another recipient of a Gonad, albeit an anti-Gonad to be sure, who fought her way into a final with her own blistering ground strokes and will. I won't know for sure if she's recovered from Roland Garros until she's in a similar position against a big name at a Slam. But she ralled from a 0-4 deficit in the first set of her semifinal against Frenchwoman Marion Bartoli, indicating she's got some mettle. The fans were clearly behind her in this final, but Petra was simply not going to be denied.


AP

Greta Arn of Hungary holds the winner's trophy after her 6-3, 6-3 victory over Yanina Wickmayer of Belgium in the final of the ASB Classic Women's Tennis Tournament at ASB Tennis Centre in Auckland, New Zealand, Saturday, Jan. 8, 2011.

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In a previous Drive By, I asked what Maria Sharapova was doing losing to Greta Arn. I got my answer watching this final.

Yes, Yanina was worn out from her 3-hour battle against Peng Shuai in the semifinals, but the 31-year-old veteran with a back story as compelling as Francesca Schiavone's showed the WTA that older can mean wiser and more courageous between the lines.

Most of the match was a baseline battle, but Greta knew when to attack the forecourt to secure a point. Despite her height, she moved effortlessly about, making it seem there was no ball she couldn't retrieve. Sticky Wicky simply had no answers as winner after winner whizzed by her slumping frame.

"I feel unbelievable. I'm so happy, I don't even know what to say. My dream come true," Arn said. "I just tried to do my thing. I played my tennis and took it one ball after another. I wanted to move her around because she had a tough match yesterday; she looks fit to me, but it seemed to work today."

Indeed.

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In other parts of the world, it was all about the Swiss. I didn't watch either final. I've absolutely no desire to see another single encounter between the top Swiss and top Russian and the Chennai tournament has never piqued my interest.


Reuters

Roger Federer of Switzerland holds the golden eagle trophy after defeating Nikolay Davydenko of Russia 6-3, 6-4 at the Qatar Open tennis tournament in Doha January 8, 2011.

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Swiss tennis player Stanislas Wawrinka poses with the winner's trophy after winning his match against his Belgian opponent Xavier Malisse, during the final match at the ATP Chennai Open 2011, in Chennai on January 9, 2011. Wawrinka won the Chennai Open title and defeated Malisse 7-5, 4-6, 6-1.

US OPEN 2010: Men's Semifinals Preview

By MadProfessah

Here are my predictions for the men's semifinals at the US Open for 2010. I previously correctly predicted 4 of 4 men's quarterfinals.

Roger Federer SUI (2) vs. Novak Djokovic SRB (3). For the fourth year in a row, Roger Federer must defeat Novak Djokovic to reach the final of the US Open. Three of their four meetings have been in the semifinals in New York, and it should not be forgotten that the Serb is the last person to beat the Swiss player at this stage in a grand slam, at the 2008 Australian Open. Federer leads their career head-to-head 10-5 (8-4 on hard courts) and should be expected to win again. However, it's unlikely to be easy. Although Djokovic has only ever won set against Federer in New York and lost 12, but almost every set has been very close including 3 tiebreak sets. Djokovic will probably not be affected by a partisan New York crowd rooting for his defeat and a mouth-watering Nadal-Federer final; he beat Roger in the final of his own tournament in his hometown of Basel last year. That win was indoors, and it is very likely that the conditions will become a factor on Saturday. So far, Federr has been the player to take the most advantage of the difficult conditions of anyone in the draw. PREDICTION: Federer in 4 sets or Djokovic in 5 sets.

Rafael Nadal ESP (1) vs. Stanislas Wawrinka SUI (25) Mikhail Youzhny RUS (12). Nadal has been playing some of his best tennis, ever, in New York, especially his serve which has now improved to the point where the Spaniard is regularly reaching 130 mph. He has now become the player least likely to have their service broken. Nadal did well to dismiss Fernando Verdasco in straight sets in the quarterfinals and has yet to lose a set in the tournament. Youzhny has a lost at least one set ni every round he has played here, except for a straight set first round victory. Surprisingly, Youzhny has quite a good record against Nadal, with 4 wins to 7 losses (4 to 3 on hard courts) and has a notable victory over Nadal at the U.S. Open, having beaten the then-20-year-old Spaniard in 4-sets in the 2006 Quarterfinals. However, neither player is the same player they were four years ago, with both having improved tremendously. Nadal is now the #1 player in the world and riding a 19 grand-slam match winning streak, while Youzhny is just out of the Top 10 at #14 in the world. The Russian played a grueling 5-set match to dispose of Stanislas Wawrinka in the quarters and has demonstrated that he is not intimidated by any opponent. The question does he have the game to prevent the most anticipated match in tennis history? Doubtful.  PREDICTION: Nadal in 4 sets. 

US OPEN 2010: Men's Quarterfinals Preview

By MadProfessah

Here are my predictions for the men's quarterfinals at the US Open for 2010.

Roger Federer SUI (2) vs. Robin Soderling SWE (5). The showdown everyone has been waiting for since the draw was released is this repeat from the 2010 French Open quarterfinal where the Big Swede ended Federer's streak of 23 consecutive major semifinals on a cold, wet day in Paris. Soderling has become a legitimate Top 5 player, playing in the last two Roland Garros finals (losing both). Federer's recent disappointments at majors have all come at the hands of tall, muscular, mobile players like Soderling (French Open 2010) Berdych (Wimbledon 2010) and Juan Martin del Potro (US Open 2009). It is supremely possible that this could be another addition to that string. But, I doubt it. Federer has something to prove, and like most great players hates to lose to any player twice in a row. For Federer to win he will need to play better than he did against Jurgen Melzer in the 4th Round, and he has to hope that his felicitous luck continues. PREDICTION: Federer in 4 sets.

Gael Monfils FRA (17) vs. Novak Djokovic SRB (3). The extremely gifted French player has never beaten the Serbian champion, but a lot of their matches have actually been pretty close. The annoying aspect of Monfils' game is that despite being (in Jim Courier's words) "the most gifted athlete tennis has ever produced," the 6'4" 176-pound speedster plays a defensive, counter-punching style of tennis. Monfils did well to dismiss his even more gifted French compatriot Richard Gasquet in straight sets in the fourth round (winning the last 5 games) to reach his first ever US Open quarterfinal. Djokovic has also played well, easily dismissing American Mardy Fish in straight sets.Unless New York City gets very hot and/or Monfils (does and) starts playing the way all his coaches have been begging him to play (lights out, aggressive tennis) Djokovic will be in his fourth consecutive US Open semifinal, where he would most likely face Roger Federer for the third consecutive year.  PREDICTION: Djokovic in 4 sets. 

Andy Murray GBR (4) Sam Querrey USA (20) Stanislas Wawrinka SUI (25) vs. Mikhail Youzhny RUS (12). This is the dark horse spoiler quarter where Andy Murray went out early and loudly to the suddenly sharp other player from Switzerland. Wawrinka did very well to follow-up that big win with a strong-hearted outlasting of American Sam Querrey in 5-sets on a tough, windy day to win in just under 5 hours. Youzhny also dashed American hopes by taking out Marathon Man John Isner in the 3rd round. This will be the quiet quarter because no one expects the winner of this match to be able to win their next match and reach the 2010 US Open final. I agree, but Youzhny would be the player who could pose more questions for his future Spanish opponent. PREDICTION: Wawrinka in 3 sets or Youzhny in 4 or 5 sets.

Francisco Verdasco ESP (8) vs. Rafael Nadal ESP (1). This is a repeat of the now-legendary 2009 Australian Open Men's Semifinal where Nadal beat Verdasco in a 5-hour, 14-minute 5-sets instant classic. It's doubtful that this repeat will be as amazing as that match (very few matches in any year are). I'm sure many people would be satisfied if this match is as exciting as Verdasco's last match, where he came back from 2-sets to love down against David Ferrer and won the 5th set despite being down a service break and then 1-4 in the tie-break--winning the last 6 points of the match! Nadal is playing the best tennis I have ever seen him play, and is clearly the best player in the tournament so far (he still has not dropped serve!) but he hasn't really been tested. He has clearly had the better half of the draw and potentially will be able to reach the final of a major by only facing one Top 10 player. Verdasco has never beaten Nadal in ten attempts, but if he plays like his life depends on it, just maybe he can turn that stat around. After all, before Soderling beat Federer in France, he had lost to the Swiss player 11-times in a row. Is Verdasco how one pronounces Soderling in Spanish? PREDICTION: Nadal in 4 sets.

Will He Ever Win A Slam?

by Craig Hickman


Getty

Most of y'all already know what I think.

Winning Ugly

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Andy Roddick of the USA poses with the trophy after winning his final match 7-6(2), 7-6(7) against Radek Stepanek of the Czech Republic during day eight of the Brisbane International 2010 at Queensland Tennis Centre on January 10, 2010 in Brisbane, Australia.

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I'll let the horse's mouth tell it:

“I didn’t expect to come in and win my first tournament after a pretty extended layoff,” Roddick said. “You could focus on the last 20 minutes of stress or look at the whole week … overall I feel pretty good about it.

“It was weird. I don’t think I have squandered a lead where I have been putting in first serves and making approach shots. And in the breakers it was the same deal. I kept making first serves so that was helping me hold on to the last shred of sanity I had.

“But at the end of the day the only thing that will be remembered is the ‘w’ (win).”

Excellent attitude. He had certainly forgotten how to win and thankfully, as another fan wrote last night, Radek Stepanek helped to remind him.

I'm reminded of the old high-school basketball cheer, "You gotta fight to win and we will not give in."

Whatever else Andy does on a tennis court, he fights as hard as any competitor out there, including his opponent last night. That fight was rewarded with his first victory on the continent of Australia in his first ever final Down Under.

Under the circumstances -- the anguish, the injuries, the months-long absence from competition, the forgetting how to win since last winter -- it was a tremendous ‘w’.

Now I'll try to convince myself these words are true.

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France's Jeremy Chardy, left, and Marc Gicquel hold their trophy after beating Leander Paes of India and Lucas Dlouhy of the Czech Republic 6-3, 7-6 in their men's doubles finals at the Brisbane International tennis tournament in Brisbane, Australia, Sunday, Jan. 10, 2010.

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Reuters

Croatia's Marin Cilic holds the trophy after defeating Switzerland's Stanislas Wawrinka 7-6(2), 7-6(3) in their singles final match at the Chennai Open ATP tennis tournament in the southern Indian city of Chennai January 10, 2010.

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Face Of The Day

Reuters

Centre Court of the The All England Lawn Tennis & Croquet Club seen in aerial view as Andy Murray of Great Britain plays Stanislas Wawrinka of Switzerland during their match at the Wimbledon Tennis Championships in London June 29, 2009.

Faces Of The Day

Reuters

Prince Albert II of Monaco and his friend Charlene Wittstock attend the semifinals of the Monte Carlo Masters tennis tournament in Monaco April 18, 2009.

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Monte-Carlo Rolex Masters
Semifinals
[1] R Nadal (ESP) d [4] A Murray (GBR) 63 76(4)
[3] N Djokovic (SRB) d [13] S Wawrinka (SUI) 46 61 63

Doubles - Semifinals
[1] B Bryan (USA) / M Bryan (USA) d [3] L Dlouhy (CZE) / L Paes (IND) 67(3) 63 14-12 - saved 1 M.P.
[2] D Nestor (CAN) / N Zimonjic (SRB) d N Djokovic (SRB) / V Troicki (SRB) 36 61 10-5

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Family Circle Cup
Semifinals
(5) C Wozniacki (DEN) d (1/WC) E Dementieva (RUS) 64 57 75
(16) S Lisicki (GER) d (6) M Bartoli (FRA) 63 61

Doubles - Semifinals
(4) Mattek-Sands/Petrova (USA/RUS) d. (1) Peschke/Raymond (CZE/USA)
75 16 106

Rematches & Shirley Bassey

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Singer Shirley Bassey attends the ATP Masters Series launch party at the Grimaldi Forum on April 11, 2009 in Monte-Carlo, Monaco.

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The 2008 Roma final will be re-contested first, followed by the 2009 Indian Wells final.

Hey Stan, don't take your foot off the pedal now, buddy. You have an opportunity to beat three top 5 players at the same event. Make the very best of it.

Quote For The Day

“I did a great match, but [it] is always difficult to play against a good friend. You're always different on court. But today I think I was playing better. He came only two days before the tournament, so it's not easy to play great on clay courts. So I think it was the difference. It’s had many opportunities and I won in two sets. Both of us were very tentative today and there were ups and downs in the match. I believe he hasn't found his rhythm on clay and he made many errors. I was very happy because I think I played my best match physically. Maybe not the most spectacular tennis, but it’s my most beautiful victory.”

--Stanislas Wawrinka

Keeping His Heart Out Of His Mouth

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."Wawrinka played the point beautifully and then suddenly, his heart was in his mouth."

That's what commentator Jason Goodall said halfway through the second set of Stanislas Wawrinka's 6-4, 7-5 victory over compatriot and defending finalist Roger Federer in the third round of the Monte-Carlo Rolex Masters today.

His heart was in his mouth. That described the entire match, really. Just about every time Stan would get a break point on Raja's serve, he'd hit a ball out. His conversion rate was 3 of 14.

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The only thing Raja did well all day was hit passing shots. His forehand was a wasteland, his first serve AWOL, his attitude abysmal.

It almost looked like he didn't even care.

He might not have.

Mirka, hiding behind dark glasses beneath dark and ominous clouds, didn't look all that concerned.

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Still, I didn't think Stan would be able to close him out. It would be the first time, after all. Serving for the match, the Swiss No. 2 seized up again. After saving a few break points, he opened his shoulders, played two aggressive points, and ended the match with his trademark backhand down the line.

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He found a way to keep his heart out of his mouth.

AP

Reuters


Reuters

Patriot Games

I was stoked to watch the all-Spanish third round between Fernando Verdasco and David Ferrer, and really can't wait to see what Stanislas Wawrinka brings to the dirt against Roger Federer in their all-Swiss affair, but, alas, it's raining on the French Riviera this morning.

I can't say I ever recall that happening in my years of watching this event.

Anyway, when the clouds clear, use this as the third-round Monte-Carlo open thread.

Exquisite Dialogue

"I can beat you with my backhand. But can you beat me with your forehand?" Rafael Nadal asked Stanislas Wawrinka early in the match. Clearly, both players decided to pummel their shots to the other's weaker wing.



"Are you sure you can beat me with your backhand?" Stan replied.



"Don't answer my question with a question. You're pissing me off. Now I'm just going to have to use my best transition game and volley you off the court."



"Not so fast. You think just because you're the best, just because I haven't beaten you before, that I can't kick your ass tonight? I know a little something about the forecourt, too. Take a few of these stretch forehand volleys that hardly bounce off the court that I'm dropping for winners like clockwork."



"Well, my forehand is better than your backhand."



"Hell, no."



The warriors one-upped the the other all night and when Rafa fell behind an early break in the second set, he got mad and he wasn't going to take it anymore.



"I told you my forehand was better than your backhand, Mr. Man. I guess you Swiss one-handers really think your backhand is unplayable. I got both your numbers, buddy."



21 games into the match and Rafa finally broke serve after failing on 7 previous tries.



At 4-4 in the third, Rafa held comfortably. At 4-5, and facing three consecutive match points at 0-40, Stan dug in.



"You can't touch my serve."



No, Rafa couldn't. Well, he touched it, but that was about it. Even after he earned a another match point when Stan got the game back to deuce, Stan composed himself once more and threw in another first serve deep up the T that Rafa knifed into the net with a backhand slice return.



When Stan leveled the match at 5-5, the crowd offered up a spontaneous standing ovation. They wanted more, more, more, and were prepared to stay into the wee hours of the morning to get it.



Why couldn't Stan muster this kind of performance against all the top players?



Stan had ice in his veins, to be sure. 90 minutes into the second set alone, the drama finally moved into another tiebreak. Rafa had played the first one flawlessly. The second, not so much. Still, after digging and slicing and lunging and fist-pumping, he found himself with two more match points on Stan's serve.



As before, Stan landed a first serve, this one deep and wide to Rafa's backhand for a service winner. Stan barked for the umpteenth time in the match after winning a huge point. On the sixth match point, he bombed another first serve. But Rafa got this one back in play. After a rapid-fire exchange, Rafa stopped on a dime, reached behind him and did exactly what he said he could do from the start--he beat his stubborn opponent with a laser cross court backhand pass.



Two sets. Two hours and 43 minutes.



Such exquisite dialogue. Such a great show.



Day Highlights

Match Of The Day

Match of the event, really. It's sure to get better down the road, but when Sam Querrey won 94% of all his service points to cruise past Stanislas Wawrinka 6-2 in the first set, I knew Stan would step up. It wasn't that he was playing poorly, after all, but Sam was on fire.

Second set was high-quality from both sides of the net. Sam cracked first, dropping his serve at 5-6 to surrender the set. By late in the third, the atmosphere turned Davis Cup-esque, though the fans were ultra courteous to the Swiss, who was giving them all sorts of reasons to applaud.

The tiebreak began thus: first 8 points, 8 first serves. Players exchanged one mini break. Then Stan double faulted, leaving the match on Sam's racquet at 5-4. Sam made a first serve, but retreated from the net on a forward approach and paid the price. A controversial overule on the sidellne gave Sam his first match point at 6-5. Forcing play brought Stan to match point at 7-6. Sam served back-to-back aces to lead 8-7. Stan had enough. He flashed his gonads and won the last three points of the match at the net.

That's what made all the difference:

Balls.

The Closer

Getty

There can be no doubt how much Davis Cup means to Andy Roddick. He has never failed to close out a tie on his racquet. I believe he's now 11-0 when in this position. With his 31st vcitory today, a straight set romp all over Stanislas Wawrinka, Andy moves into second place behind John McEnroe for all time singles victories in U.S. Davis Cup history.

Off to clay in Croatia after Wimbledon.

United States 1, Switzerland 1

Slideshow is best viewed in full screen mode by clicking on icon with four diagonal arrows on lower right corner. Select SHOW INFO in upper right of full screen mode for captions.

I'm shocked. I guess I shouldn't be, but I am. James Blake needed to dig deeper to win that match. Stanislas Wawrinka, who had to pick today of all days to get his shit together, served well and did what he had to do to frustrate Blake, but that was a winnable match for the American.

And what's with the Swiss fans out-cheering the American fans on homesoil?

Oh, how I wish I could have been there.

UPDATE: Andy saves the day for the USA!

Day 1 Results - World Group

ARGENTINA leads NETHERLANDS 2-0
Juan Ignacio Chela (ARG) d. Jesse Huta Galung (NED) 62 26 62 67(4) 62
Juan Monaco (ARG) d. Thiemo de Bakker (NED) 61 62 76(1)

CZECH REPUBLIC level with FRANCE 1-1
Tomas Berdych (CZE) d. Gilles Simon (FRA) 76(3) 46 76(3) 63
Jo-Wilfried Tsonga (FRA) d. Radek Stepanek (CZE) 75 62 76(1)

SWITZERLAND level with USA 1-1
Stanislas Wawrinka (SUI) d. James Blake (USA) 36 64 63 76(3)
Andy Roddick (USA) d. Marco Chiudinelli (SUI) 61 63 76(5)

CROATIA leads CHILE 2-0
Mario Ancic (CRO) d. Nicolas Massu (CHI) 63 63 76(4)
Marin Cilic (CRO) d. Paul Capdeville (CHI) 61 62 61

SWEDEN level with ISRAEL 1-1
Thomas Johansson (SWE) d. Harel Levy (ISR) 67(3) 64 75 46 86
Dudi Sela (ISR) d. Andreas Vinciguerra (SWE) 46 63 36 63 11-9

RUSSIA leads ROMANIA 2-0
Marat Safin (RUS) d. Victor Crivoi (ROU) 76(5) 64 64
Mikhail Youzhny (RUS) d. Victor Hanescu (ROU) 64 62 64

GERMANY level with AUSTRIA 1-1
Stefan Koubek (AUT) d. Rainer Schuettler (GER) 64 75 57 62
Philipp Kohlschreiber (GER) d. Jurgen Melzer (AUT) 67(4) 46 64 63 63

Commentary US Open 9/1/08 Day 8

by Savannah


On paper Andy Murray playing Stan Wawrinka should have been a competitive match. Both had been playing well coming into the match. Too bad only AndyM showed up. The final score was 6-1, 6-3, 6-3 Murray and it wasn't that close.
Savannah's World

US OPEN 2008: Men's Top 10 Preview

By Mad Professah

Yesterday I posted my predictions for the Top 10 Women players at the 2008 US Open. Today is my prediction for the Top 10 Men.

1. Rafael Nadal, Spain. The new #1 player in the world comes into the final Grand Slam of the year having one of the all-time best years on tour, having won three ATP Masters Series titles, the French Open, Wimbledon and an Olympic Gold medal (singles). Nadal has a pretty good draw (except for a possible 4th Round match-up with Ivo Karlovic) and is clearly playing with confidence since he has only lost one match in a Grand Slam tournament all year long (to Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in the Australian Open semifinals). Nadal has historically underperformed in New York, having lost in the quarterfinals the last two years. This year as long as he can get past Karlovic, James Blake and Andy Murray he should make his first US Open final. PREDICTION: Finalist.
2. Roger Federer, Switzerland. The once and future #1 player in the world has been having an incredibly disappointing year (for him) despite having been in two Grand Slam finals and winning an Olympic Gold medal (doubles). For the first time, since 2003 he has arrived in New York not as the #1 seed and this time he has Novak Djokovic in his half of the draw. Despite having won this tournament for the past four year in a row, he can not be considered the favorite, considering his performance this year and his difficult draw. (Radek Stepanek could be problematic in the early rounds.) I believe the tournament will be decided in the semifinal clash between Federer and Djokovic on Saturday September 6th and until we see how the Serbian and Swiss are playing in New York it's difficult to predict the winner of that showdown. PREDICTION: Semifinalist or Champion.
3. Novak Djokovic, Serbia. The third member of the triumvirate at the head of men's tennis is the only other player besides Nadal and Federer to have won a major title since May 2005. Although he lost (in a 3-set match) to Nadal in Beijing, I believe that if Djokovic or Federer gets to the final, they will be able to figure out a way to win. Really, Djokovic should have won the title last year, it was only through a series of unlucky breaks that he was down two sets instead of up two sets in his final against Federer, which ended soon afterwards. This year Djokovic has played some excellent matches against Nadal, losing a very close final at Queens and having his revenge in the Cincinnati semis. It is true Djokovic beat Federer at the Australian Open but we know now that was not Federer at his best although with his confidence shaken I think the Federer-Djokovic semifinal is currently too close to call, but I am confident that person will be the 2008 US Open Champion. PREDICTION: Semifinalist or Champion.
4. David Ferrer, Spain. Got to the semis last year by defeating a hobbled Nadal. Doubtful the incredibly fit Spaniard will be able to repeat that feat this year if he faces a much improved Andy Murray in the quarters. PREDICTION: Quarterfinalist.
5. Nikolay Davydenko, Russia. The Russian is in a weak part of the draw but it doesn't take much to defeat him on hardcourts. It's doubtful he will be around long enough for a quarterfinal match-up with Federer--unfortunately for Federer. Possible replacements are Dmitry Tursunov, Jarko Tipsarevic and Richard Gasquet (or Tommy Haas). PREDICTION: 3rd Round.
6. Andy Murray, Great Britain. I think this US Open is a great opportunity for Murray to show that his first ATP Masters Series title (in Cincinatti over Djokovic) was no fluke and that he is coming into his own a bit later after his contemporaries Novak Djokovic and Gael Monfils have made large noises at major tournaments. Murray wants to do more than make a large noise, he wants to win and some people think he can. I would be surprised to NOT see him deep into the second week. PREDICTION: Semifinalist.
7. David Nalbandian, Argentina. Oh, what can you say about an hombre like David? He's in Nadal's quarter but I'd be shocked if he gets through the gauntlet of Monfils, Paul-Henri Mathieu and James Blake. He is still one of the great ball-strikers in the game with impeccable timing, however his fitness (both mental and physical) are always annotated with a question mark. PREDICTION: 3rd or 4th Round.
8. Andy Roddick, U.S. Roddick is in Djokovic's quarter and Federer's semi. If (and its a big if!) he gets through some tricky first round matches (Fabrice Santoro, Ernest Gulbis and Andreas Seppi) he might make it to a quarterfinal blowout by Djokovic. But I doubt it. And so does he, and that's the problem. PREDICTION: Quarterfinalist.
9. James Blake, U.S. Blake finally got another monkey off his back by defeating Federer in Beijing on a(nother) bad day for Federer. Has the skills and weapons to beat anyone else in the Top 10 on the right day, hopefully (for him) that could happen in a quarterfinal against Nadal but he'll have to go through another American player in Mardy Fish as well another Black player in Gael Monfils. PREDICTION: Quarterfinalist.
10. Stanislas Wawrinka, Switzerland. The other Top 10 player from Switzerland (and lympic Gold Medalist in doubles) is in the Ferrer/Murray quarter and will probably not prevent that match-up from occurring. If Murray loses early Wawrinka could be a shock semifinalist by beating Ferrer in the quarters. Yeah, right. PREDICTION: 4th Round.