Articles by Steve Tignor

Failure to Launch

Wed, 19 Jun 2013 19:49:00 -0400

EASTBOURNE, England—Ivan Dodig, while he’s ranked just 50th in the world and has never been above No. 32, has always seemed to me to be a model competitor. He treats the game like a job; he tries what he can, and if it doesn’t work, he doesn’t turn it into a personal reflection on himself. He knows his limits and works within them, and doesn’t indulge in the angst and self-torture that we see from many of his more talented colleagues. Dodig, at least, knows that he has limits.

Maybe that’s because, from a physical standpoint, Dodig is an unlikely-looking tennis player. He has a stocky build, rather than the long and lanky one we normally associate with the sport. Like his fellow lunch-bucket artist David Ferrer, he goes about his business with his shoulders hunched, and his shots are utilitarian rather than artistic or creative—in his hands, the racquet is a tool rather than a wand. The 28-year-old Croatian is not a performer in any sense; every move and expression is related to the work he has to do (though it should be noted that he's not above the occasional rage-filled outburst). Today, on grass against 6’5” Milos Raonic, serve-and-volley was his best tactic, so he served and volleyed. At one point in the second set, Dodig slipped and fell and spun out on the turf. His legs whirled out from under him like a break dancer’s. But when he stood up, there were no Murray-esque moans, no glares of anger at the slippery patch of grass beneath him, no time spent walking it off or feeling embarrassed about his tumble. Dodig got up and got on with it.

He also got on with upsetting Raonic, the top seed. Raonic has been here this week with new coach Ivan Ljubicic, and their practices have involved a fair amount of time spent rushing the net. Raonic tried to use that tactic against Dodig, to little avail. If he wasn’t passed at the net, he was caught in no-man’s land. To be fair, Raonic was equally hesitant from the baseline. If he wasn’t throwing a lame backhand slice into the net, he was late getting around for his inside-out forehand. Despite all that, Raonic still had a set point in the second-set tiebreaker, but somehow he failed to get in position for a simple backhand near the net. He caught it late, and pushed it wide. It wasn't Milos' day.

Asked about his new coaching arrangement with Ljubicic, Raonic said, “Obviously, I think it needs time, that’s for sure, and I think the approach and things we’re trying to achieve are a bit different. We’re trying to incorporate things and understanding that it’s not always going to work, try to sort of win the matches but sort of think about what I’m trying to improve. It’s about having a long-term goal.”

At the All England Club in 2011, one veteran tennis writer predicted that Raonic would win Wimbledon within four years. With that serve, it didn’t seem like an insane thing to say. Next week we’ll be halfway there, and while the Canadian has steady progress during that time—he’s No. 15 in the world—he hasn’t shown a special aptitude for grass. He lost to Sam Querrey in the second round at Wimbledon last year, and so far in 2013 he’s 0-2 on the surface. Today he expressed some misgivings about trying to round his game into shape while having to practice on it.

“I’ve got to figure out my thing,” Raonic said. “It’s like I’m just not executing the things I need to execute. Obviously the surface doesn’t make it easy. I think it’s easier for me to figure out things on hard courts.”

Raonic, a big man and bigger server who does his best to think and play like Pete Sampras, seemed like the model of a Wimbledon winner when he arrived on tour. But the missile-throwing model is starting to look pretty creaky. What I noticed most today was how easily Dodig was able to get Raonic out of position and make him look a step slow. The slice serve out wide in the deuce court, the sharp cross-court backhand, the drop volley—Raonic struggled to find answers to all of these. The last Raonic-esque ace machine to win Wimbledon was Goran Ivanisevic in 2001. Since then, there have been four champions, Lleyton Hewitt, Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, and Novak Djokovic—speed merchants all.

Afterward, Raonic was upbeat, albeit in a decidedly morose way. “Can’t play much worse," he said, "so it’s only going to get better. I think I should be positive in that sense.”

As bad as Raonic was, I enjoyed seeing Dodig find his way to an upset victory. Early in the second set, he knew he had chance, but he couldn’t convert the break to put it away. After one mishit, Dodig stopped, looked down at the court, and brought his fingers toward his face. It appeared for a second like he might jab them right into his eyes, but he held off. It was a violent way of telling himself to stay focused, and about as close as he gets to hamming it up.

Today Dodig stayed focused and kept Raonic moving. His shots, while hardly artistic or even powerful, put him into winning positions—nothing more, nothing less. When it was over, he allowed himself to do a little performing. After the handshake, Dodig crossed the net, looked up at his coach, and, very briefly, jumped for joy. Then he hunched his shoulders again and put his racquets—his tools—back into his bag.

Scenes from Eastbourne: Tuesday

Tue, 18 Jun 2013 23:47:00 -0400

Photos by Anita Aguilar.

The pier at Eastbourne, opened in 1870 but mostly quiet today, has a melancholy, Gatsby-esque beauty.

Flavia Pennetta celebrated a winning point in her doubles match with Elena Vesnina. As the grounds thinned out later, Flavia stayed late into the evening to practice with her coach.

New British hope Kyle Edmund, 18, reacts to a close call in his doubles match Tuesday.

Juan Monaco signs an autograph for a young fan.

Yuliya Beygelzeimer, who lost to Laura Robson Tuesday, doesn't appear encouraged by her coach's words.

Clouds, and a crowd, gathered to see a doubles match featuring Andy Murray's brother, Jamie.

Old pro Feliciano Lopez, another member of the over-30 brigade, sweated out a win.

Angelique Kerber is known for her defense, but she went full speed ahead with this shot in her win over Sorana Cirstea on Tuesday...

...as did Petra Kvitova with this backhand...

...as did Li Na with this forehand.

Eastbourne may be best seen at night, when the lights along the oceanfront are turned on, and Big Band music floats out from the old hotels that line the street.

A sight familiar to all tennis fans: Piotr Wozniacki offers (many) words of advice for his daughter, Caroline. Those words worked today; she'll play Laura Robson Wednesday.

A less talkative Rory McIlroy observed from the bleachers. Asked to comment on her boyfriend's club-bending act at the U.S. Open, Caroline said, "Uh, I...next question?"

A high-flying Lucie Safarova was a winner on Tuesday.

The scores are still changed manually after each point on the outer courts at Eastbourne. A beleaguered teenager is usually held responsible.

Most of the players stay at the Eastbourne Center, a glass-and-concrete pile referred to by at least one local as, "the ugliest hotel in the world." It's not pretty, but it isn't that bad.

How to Have Fun in Eastbourne

Tue, 18 Jun 2013 18:56:00 -0400

EASTBOURNE, England—“Welcome to the Sunshine Coast”: These are the words that greet you as you walk off the train at this small seaside town 90 minutes southeast of London. Eastbourne, as more than one local has informed me in the last 24 hours, is the sunniest place anywhere in England. Which makes me wonder: What qualifies as “sunny,” exactly? As long as the clouds aren’t pitch black?

After years of glimpsing the tops of the Victorian homes behind center court here on television, I had expected Eastbourne to be the staidest of vacation villages. It’s certainly peaceful, but it’s also rougher around the edges than I had anticipated, a place whose heyday must have come decades ago, when people in England still spent their summer holidays in England. It’s June, yet enough storefronts remain shut that you could mistake it for the winter off-season. The hotels that line the main seaside street, which is known as the Royal Parade, seem to be reserved for citizens 70 and up. Husbands and wives gather in large groups in the lounges to smoke and watch the water and listen to Big Band music, which floats out toward the sea in the evening. If you were going to make a documentary about Eastbourne, you might start with the title, Cocoon, With Cigarettes.

All of which gives the oceanfront a surreal, melancholy, Gatsby-esque beauty, like an empty set from a Jazz Age movie. The main street is lined with lawn gardens and blue, Deco-era railings and light fixtures, and the gravelly beach is virtually deserted by day; on Monday, the loudest noises came from the imperious seagulls that perch on the highest points in town before swooping down to head level. The water was silvery and rough, and the pier that juts far into the sea, with its shuttered fudge shops and archaic amusements, was eerily silent except for the fishermen working and cursing at its far end. One restaurant on the pier was closed, yet its chairs and table settings were still perfectly arranged, seemingly ready for a dinner that took place in 1918. The film I was reminded of this time was The Shining, if Jack Nicholson had spent his fateful winter by the ocean rather than the mountains.

All in all, it’s an unlikely place for many of the world’s best tennis players to gather. Most of them stay on the main drag at the Eastbourne Center, a dark, modernist concrete pile that stands out among the older hotels. When I was getting directions to the tennis center, one Eastbourne resident told me, “Walk until you see the ugliest hotel in the world, and then turn right.” He was referring to the Eastbourne Center—it's not pretty, but it’s not that bad. As I was walking back along a sidestreet, I saw Li Na and her husband coming the other way, possibly looking for something to eat. They peeked into the fish and chips place on the corner, but decided to keep going. Running into Li Na on a mostly deserted side street in Eastbourne: Now that’s surreal.

The tournament is held in Devonshire Park, a few blocks from the water. Lawn tennis has been played here for more than a century. The event was WTA-only from 1974 to 2008, until the British tennis association moved its ATP tournament here from Nottingham in ’09. No one I know who has been to the event fails to recommend it, and it’s easy to see why. The entire grounds are grass, both the courts and the viewing areas, which is instantly more relaxing than the steaming cement that fans walk on, and players play on, at most tournaments. Spectators line the outer courts, but finding a spot to watch isn’t difficult; there’s little hustle or sense of hurry, and nothing feels cramped. The pros seem to exist on the same plane as the rest of humanity here, as if we’re all attending the championships at our home club.

As you might expect, Eastbourne has its quaint charms and traditions. Players are told to report for their matches over loudspeakers that can be heard around the grounds. On the side courts, the score is kept manually, by a beleaguered boy or girl who must stand, change the number, and sit back down in the 25 seconds between each point—sometimes it doesn’t go so smoothly. When a match is over, the ball kids charge to the middle of the court and take their places at the center service lines on each side of the net. At times, in their excitement, they get there a little sooner than planned. A ball-kid blockade stopped Lucie Safarova and Klara Zakopalova a few feet short of the net as they tried to shake hands after their match on Tuesday.

The best spot for viewing is the second show court, known, in the tradition of all English tennis clubs, as Court 1. It also featured the most newsworthy match of this day, between No. 1 seed Agnieszka Radwanska and No. 41 Jamie Hampton of the United States. Hampton had given Aga a good run in Auckland to start the season, but ended up handing over two sets in tiebreakers. She had controlled the points with her pace in that match, and she did the same today. Just like last time, though, Hampton almost gave it away. She was broken while serving for the first set. "I was rattled,” she admitted. “It was little bit like déjà vu.”

This time Hampton kept swinging big, and she started painting the lines again the first-set tiebreaker, which she won easily. It should be said that Hampton was helped by an awful overrule from chair umpire Mariana Alves, who famously reversed a call against Serena Williams at the U.S. Open a decade ago, thus hastening the implementation of Hawk-Eye. This time Hampton was serving at 5-6, 0-15 in the first set and appeared to be reeling. Her next serve landed well long, and was called long by the linesman. But Alves stepped in and, to Radwanska’s astonishment, said it was good. Hampton went on to hold from there.

Of course, that takes nothing away from Hampton’s win. Despite her fourth-round appearance at the French Open, she had to qualify for this event. The extra work is paying off. She told her coach before the draw was made that, “I want to play Radwanska, because we’ve never played on grass...I want the opportunity to play her again and make sure I come out on top.”

Hampton says she enjoys playing junkballers like Aga because an old coach of hers used to like to get under her skin by giving her different looks and mixing things up. Jamie also says that grass is growing on her.

“Last year at Wimbledon,” Hampton said, “was my first match [on the surface], and everyone told me that you’re going to have a ton of fun on grass. You’re going to be able to come forward and take balls out of the air. I’m having a ton of fun on grass, to be honest.”

I guess a 23-year-old can have fun in Eastbourne, after all. By the end of Hampton's match, the sun really was shining.

Keeping Tabs: June 18

Tue, 18 Jun 2013 11:37:00 -0400

LONDON—We’re near the start, I believe, of what's known as the Season here. Races, regattas, tennis, golf: There’s something each week to go with your Pimm’s. Among tennis fans and writers, it’s also the start of another familiar season. You might call it the build-up to Wimbledon, but I think of it as the time of year when I start to see headlines like this one, from Monday in London's Daily Mirror:

ANDY MURRAY IS AN EXTRA-TERRESTRIAL

That’s a new one, as far as I can tell, when it comes to hyping Murray’s chances at Wimbledon. Though it does seem like a logical tabloid conclusion—”Muzz was really Bat Boy all along!”

Yet the Mirror has a rationale: It was Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, apparently, who called him the E.T. of the tennis world. But what did Jo really say? That Muzz is playing “out of this world”? No, on further inspection of the article, it seems that Tsonga said what they said he said, and more:

“He is the best returner in the world, along with Novak Djokovic,” Jo said of Murray. “The two of them, they are extra-terrestrials. They make you feel like the court is smaller.”

Tsonga went on to make the interesting point that Djokovic and Murray are those rare players who can get in your heads with their returning skills alone.

“Against certain players, I get the feeling the box grows bigger. The more I serve, the less they know where I am going to serve. Against [Murray and Djokovic], it’s the opposite. The longer the match goes on, the more you feel they know where you are going to serve. You get the feeling that the box is a lot smaller, and that sometimes makes you force things and miss the first service. You get the feeling he breaks when he wants to break.”

“It's quite impressive,” Jo concludes. Like something from another planet, even.

*****

The next question on everyone’s mind here, of course, is how Murray will fare against his main rivals. Yet there's some disagreement over who the biggest threat to him really is. Neil Harman of the Times believes it will come from Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal, each of whom is in “seismic form.” Based on Harman’s description of Rafa and Nole’s recent clash in Paris, it’s hard to see how poor Andy has any sort of a chance:

“Their meeting in the semifinals of the French Open just 10 days ago,” Harman writes, “which was all staggering machismo, rallies that tugged at the sinews, drained the lungs and which defined modern-day tennis, is rather too fresh in the memory not to believe that the man who defeats either of them at the All England Club will have either won the cup or gone a very long way to doing so.”

Elsewhere, though, England’s writers haven’t forgotten the man who beat Murray here last year, Roger Federer. The Guardian touts Federer, and his win in Halle this weekend, with a headline that would have been unthinkably, un, humble, a few years ago:

FEDERER HOPES HALLE FORM IS ENOUGH TO MAKE RIVALS THINK

Leave it to the lower-brow Sun, though, to set the coming conflict between Murray and Federer in motion right away. The paper first gives proper respect, if that’s the right world, to Murray’s win at Queen’s with this banner headline:

TEARS ‘N A CROWN: ANDY’S SOB GLORY

This time the tears in Andy Murray’s eyes were those of a champion

Yet just below that article, the Sun sneaks in a smaller, almost subliminal, three-word headline:

FED ON FIRE

I think we can see the central drama that the paper will pushing for the next three weeks.

*****

Murray’s title at Queen’s wasn’t his only winning performance on Sunday. Afterward, he let his guard down during an exhibition for a cancer charity and won over the crowd in an entirely different way. The Daily Telegraph, with its eyes narrowed on the class angle, found this almost as significant as his tournament win, calling it...

THE DAY A SCOT BECAME THE FAVORITE SON AT QUEEN’S

“Suddenly,” Oliver Brown wrote, “we could herald a seminal moment in the humanizing of Andy Murray.”

Along the way to praising the new Muzz, though, Brown can’t help but find a tart new way to describe the old version:

“He transformed in front of our eyes from the surly tartan misanthrope to the model of compassionate benevolence, even blowing a kiss to his confrère Ross Hutchins in the crowd.”

"Transformed from a surly tartan misanthrope": Is this what you'd call a two-handed backhand compliment?

We know the hype will begin as far as Murray’s play is concerned, but we may also be in for another line of speculation about his personality, and whether he can finally “connect” with British tennis fans:

“Murray has been struggling to beguile a dubious British public for the best part of a decade,” Brown writes, “but at last, three Sundays before what could bring his maiden Wimbledon coronation, a connection between actor and audience was forged at Queen’s.”

*****

Put it all together and I think we have an Andy Murray narrative ready to unfold, just in time for the fortnight to begin:

Can E.T. phone home?

Scenes from Queen's Club: The Weekend

Mon, 17 Jun 2013 07:11:00 -0400

Photos by Anita Aguilar.

The player introductions, which are made at the club's front door, are a special touch at Queen's. Here Marin Cilic walks out—not for the last time—to try to start the final on Sunday.

Andy Murray smiling? Technically, yes, though this one was sarcastic.

Now there's the Muzz we know and love. Maybe this should be the model for his wax figure at Madame Tussaud's?

Cilic casts a long shadow at this tournament. He won last year, and reached the final this time.

At times this weekend it felt, and looked, like we were on the high seas inside Centre Court.

You can't say the people at Queen's didn't come prepared.

The members get certain perks, such as having their seats toweled when the rain stops. Apparently smiling as you work is required as well.

Murray let us know what he thought of Saturday's five-hour rain delay.

You will know him by his hat. Lleyton Hewitt, 32, is still sporting the backwards cap, and still making the semis at Queen's.

Rusty reaches for another serve.

Jo-Wilfried Tsonga's coach, Roger Rasheed, said this week that Jo doesn't dwell on his defeats. He bounced back from disappointment in Paris to reach the semis.

Along the way, Jo injected a little Gallic verve into the clubby English scene.

The crowd went silent when Murray went down with a yelp in the final. He said afterward that he felt fine.

Two questions, Tomas: I know you that's your Twitter account, but....really? Also, is that your real hair?

Ivan Lendl gets a taste of his own medicine, with a shot to the hip from his pupil, Andy Murray, during the post-final exhibition.

Murray celebrating victory? No, something even better: Plugging his coach with the ball.

Lendl has jokes? He threatened to show all to Judy Murray during the post-final exo...

...and that was something Murray's girlfriend, Kim Sears (right), didn't want to risk seeing.

Real tennis, the game of royalty and the grandaddy of all racquet sports, is still played at the club, which opened in 1886 and can claim Queen Victoria as its first member.

Every real tennis ball is a little different; the players sew their own.

Queen's keeps its history on its walls, including posters from the McEnroe-Connors duels of the early 1980s.

There's a smile from Andy.

How did a crazed dumpster-diver sneak into...hold on, is that the Mayor of London? Yes, it's Boris Johnson, and he wasn't bad for a man using a warped wooden racquet.

More memorable than anything else this week was the sight of Murray tearing up when he mentioned his friend and doubles partner, Ross Hutchins (left). The British player is battling cancer, and he helped put together a benefit on Sunday to help fight the disease.

Great(er) Expectations

Sun, 16 Jun 2013 20:57:00 -0400

LONDON—Some people really take to Queen’s. It’s the home of the repeat champion: Lleyton Hewitt, Andy Roddick, John McEnroe, and Boris Becker have all won it four times, and Pete Sampras, Jimmy Connors, and Ivan Lendl each did it twice. That’s a pretty prestigious list of winners for a 250-level event held at a tiny club in a rainy town.

The tradition continued today in the Aegon Championships final, which featured the winners from 2011 and 2012, Andy Murray and Marin Cilic. And for a second straight day, the two of them had their patience tested by another repeat champion at Queen’s: the interminable rain delay. After surviving a five-hour downpour on Saturday, they waited for more than three hours to get started today. But once again, Murray and Cilic finished by thrilling a packed house with three sets of entertaining play in the late-afternoon sunshine—the Croat called it “great, great tennis”—before Murray won his third Aegon title in five years. That’s enough to keep any player coming back for more.

In Murray’s case, it wasn’t just the win that was familiar; it was the way he went about it. For the second straight day, he lost the first set, wavered in the middle of the second before steadying himself, and ran away with the third. Murray has been nursing a back injury that had forced him out of the French Open and had made him a question mark for this event. After his semifinal win over Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, Murray said that he had been “sloppy” at times after four weeks away, that he had played well only in “patches,” but that he was satisfied that he had “found ways to win.” The same could be said for his performance over the first two sets on Sunday. Murray started with a more assertive attitude and broke Cilic immediately; his forehand looked crisper than it had all week, and he saved three break points at 2-0 with two service winners and an ace that were clocked at 132-,134-, and 136-M.P.H., respectively. It was at that moment that a question—unbidden, unwanted—wormed its way into my mind: “Is Andy Murray the favorite to win Wimbledon?”

Was I getting ahead of myself? The answer seemed to come right away. Murray’s forehand, as it had at various times this week, went AWOL. Serving at 4-2, he hammered one into the bottom of the net, sent one long at deuce, and put another into the net at break point. In the next game, Murray briefly looked like he might not get to Wimbledon at all. Trying to make a turn behind the baseline, he went down with a yelp. Silence reigned at Queen’s for a scary second. But, much like the soccer players he idolizes, Murray quickly left death’s door behind and was off the turf and running again a minute or two later. After the match, he said he had been cautious for a few games, but that he felt fine.

“I made some bad mistakes when I was up in the first set,” Murray said afterward, “like I had done in quite a few of the matches this week. But I kept trying to go for it. I was trying to take chances, and I felt like I was dictating a lot of the points.”

As he had against Tsonga, Murray tightened everything up with the match on the line. From 3-3 in the second set, he held at love three times—his serve started to click right on schedule—and came up with two very good backhand returns to break at 5-6. By the third set, Murray was flying. This time it was Cilic’s turn, while he was serving at 2-1, to watch his ground strokes go AWOL. And it was Murray’s turn to take advantage. His forehand was crisp again, and his backhand was even better. Murray fired one up the line for a winner to hold for 3-1, and came up with the shot of the tournament a couple of games later, a cross-court backhand pass hit on the dead run. Even the staid old Queen’s crowd had to get up for that one. Serving for the match at 5-3, Murray was still pounding them down at 132 M.P.H.

“I created a load of chances today,” Murray said. “I think with a few more matches and a few more days’ practice, I’ll do a better job converting them and won’t have the little slip-ups I had this week.”

So let’s return to my unwanted question from back in the first set: Is Murray the favorite for Wimbledon? Queen’s is an erratic predictor of success at its big brother event: Only twice in the last decade has a player won them both in the same season, Rafael Nadal in 2008 and Lleyton Hewitt in 2002. At the same time, though, multiple Queen’s winners such as McEnroe, Hewitt, Connors, Sampras, and Becker all won the Big W at least once—one notable exception was Murray’s coach, Lendl.

As far as his form goes, Murray’s right, he has been sloppy, sloppier than he can afford to be at a Grand Slam. His forehand has deserted him, his concentration has lapsed, and, as Tsonga and Cilic proved this weekend, his second serve is still a liability. They had little trouble running around it.

On the other hand, I don’t think Murray will have those concentration/confidence lapses at Wimbledon—if nothing else, the fortnight focuses him. His wins in the semis and the final at Queen's reminded me of the close, hard-fought, briefly nerve-wracking four-set wins that we see so often from the top seeds in the middle rounds at the Grand Slams. Murray has won his share of them at Wimbledon over the years, including two very good ones against Tsonga and David Ferrer in 2012. He had his ups and downs at Queen’s, but ups and downs are part of the deal in three-out-of-five-set matches. It’s how you recover from the downs that matters, and Murray did that well yesterday and today.

As is the case for every player, his serve will be at the crux of the matter. In his press conference today, Cilic credited that shot with helping Murray kick-start his comeback. Cilic also said that the Scot is “in the form” that could win Wimbledon. Not that Marin is counting anyone out, of course, including himself. This was a strong, resilient week of tennis from Cilic, and we may see him in one of those tight middle-round matches with a Top 4 seed in a couple weeks' time.

My colleague Richard Evans has made Murray his favorite for Wimbledon, based on his play on grass over the last year—finalist at Wimbledon, winner at the Olympics, winner at Queen’s. That’s all true, but also not a ton to go on. And it’s not like the rest of the Big 4 are exactly lagging. Roger Federer won his first event since August on grass in Halle today, Rafael Nadal has won seven titles in nine appearances in 2013, and Novak Djokovic is still No. 1 in the world. Of these three, Nadal might be the toughest ask for Murray, at least on paper. Unlike Federer and Djokovic, he’s never beaten Rafa on Centre Court. Murray has won just one set in their three grass matches, all of which were played at Wimbledon.

What does Murray himself say about his chances? He thinks he’s in similar form to years' past. “When Wimbledon comes around,” he said today, “it’s all about how you play. It’s easy to say someone is in good form when they’re not. A week is a long time in sport; anything can happen. But I’m in a good place, and I’ll just keep working hard the next week.”

One thing is certain: After this weekend, Muzz is in with a chance, as I think they like to say here. The British press can safely begin cranking up the hope machine once again. As for today, he made a worthy king of Queen’s. After the final, Murray played an exhibition to benefit the cancer foundation that has helped his friend and doubles partner, Ross Hutchins, in his battle with the disease. That also gave Murray a chance to fulfill a long-time fantasy of his: To drill his coach, Ivan Lendl, with a ball. Muzz made his dream come true with a forehand that pegged Lendl in the back. “I hit it so clean, so clean,” an obviously overjoyed Murray said later. He celebrated as if he had just won Wimbledon.

One dream down; another to come? Three Sundays from now, on a much larger Centre Court, could we be saying this of Andy Murray: "He celebrated like he had just nailed Ivan Lendl on the backside"?

Better Late Than Never

Sat, 15 Jun 2013 22:23:00 -0400

LONDON—Does there come a point for the British when the weather itself becomes life’s primary source of entertainment? That’s the way it felt through most of Saturday afternoon here. The rain came down, let up, came down, let up, and came down; the clouds gathered and broke up and gathered and broke up. The pattern lasted long enough to keep the players off the courts at Queen’s Club for four hours. By 3:00 P.M., all a journalist could do was Tweet updates about whether the covers had come off the grass or not. By 5:00, the sun had made its fashionably late arrival at last, the nets had been put back up, the ball kids and officials had taken their positions, and everything looked ready to go. Naturally, the clouds rolled back in one more time and let out a last blast of rain for the road. This time there were laughs from the audience.

It wasn’t as much fun for Lleyton Hewitt and Marin Cilic. Between raindrops, they had managed to get in two games and 15 minutes of play, and Hewitt had somehow hit five double faults in that time. Worse, when the skies finally cleared, the two were booted from the main stadium onto the much smaller Court 1 so that the home favorite, Andy Murray, could play in the bigger arena. Hewitt called this breach of tour policy—matches are supposed to finish on the courts where they start—“really, really strange” and said that “the ATP guy” who made the decision “panicked.” The tournament’s defense was that the other semifinal, between Murray and Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, would surely draw the bigger crowd. They said they couldn’t justify moving that match to a court which seats 6,000 fewer people—and also, not coincidentally, has far fewer TV cameras.

However it went down behind the scenes, there were suddenly two semifinals going on at the same time at Queen’s. For those of us in the press seats, which have a view of both courts, it was a head-snapping experience. It’s hard enough to keep track of every point in one match; forget about two. On a few occasions I succeeded in missing what happened on crucial points in both matches. Still, it felt like a reward for the long-suffering fans who had spent their Saturday staring at court covers.

As predicted, only a handful of those fans chose to watch Cilic and Hewitt. There seemed, at times, to be more people on Court 1 than there were in the bleachers. But one very vociferous and persistent Hewitt fan did make his presence felt. He celebrated every one of Rusty's winning points with a “Come on!” It was as if he wanted to save Hewitt the energy of having to do it himself.

The match was played in a suitably ornery spirit—put two frustrated, slighted players on a court without Hawk-Eye and you had a recipe either for a disaster, a highly entertaining evening of tennis, or both. Hewitt and Cilic did their best to oblige. Hewitt challenged chair umpire James Keothavong early and often, so often that when Keothavong overruled a call against Cilic, the normally placid Croat stormed forward and yelled, referring to Hewitt, “He’s putting pressure on you!”

Hewitt didn’t let that stop him. Later, he asked an elderly line judge, “Can you see?” and tossed a ball in Keothavong’s direction to show him that there was “Chalk on it, mate”—his shot, in other words, had been in, and Hewitt believed the line judge had botched another call. We had returned to the days of semifinals without replay.

“Obviously, it’s frustrating,” Hewitt said afterward. “We started on Centre Court where you have Hawk-Eye, and I feel like there were a couple of rough calls on Court 1. You’re in a semifinal and you feel like you have a couple of rough calls and you can’t challenge.”

After losing the first set and going up a break in the second, Hewitt called for the trainer and received an MTO. Cilic was left to try to stay warm in the waning light. When he lost the second set, it looked like his momentum was gone for good. But this week Cilic has shown more assertiveness and resilience than he has in the past. Winning shots have been punctuated with fist-pumps, as well as what I can only guess is the Croatian version of “Vamos!” He has also used his serve to bail him out of tough situations, and he did it again to turn the momentum back in his favor in the third set. When Cilic broke Hewitt, Rusty finally snapped, banging the ball as hard as he could off the wall behind him. Keothavong was probably lucky that’s the worst that happened.

Cilic, who recently split with longtime coach Bob Brett, will defend his title on Sunday—the good vibes from Queen’s have lasted 12 months for him. Hewitt, meanwhile, is happy with his progress heading toward Wimbledon. “I played great all week,” he said.

The main stadium, lit by late-day sunlight and shadow, felt idyllic by contrast. There Murray and Tsonga spun and curled their shots at each other to the delight of the packed house. They also challenged close calls at will; in fact, Murray challenged a little too often in the opening games, and had to forego one on a crucial point that he lost later on.

Murray and Tsonga spent some of their downtime today playing table football against each other; later, Murray claimed that he won, “Very comfortably.” But he couldn’t maintain his momentum from one sport to the next. Murray came out of the gates even more lethargically than Tsonga, a notorious slow starter. Murray struggled with his serve and forehand early, and appeared miffed by the proceedings in general. Part of that was Tsonga's doing. For the first set and a half, Jo took Murray out of his groove by playing the more muscular, dynamic game. He rifled his backhand down the line and controlled the front of the court. At 3-3 in the second set, it looked like Tsonga was going to win.

Murray, pushed to the brink, finally felt enough urgency to push back. He went down break point at 3-3, and missed his first serve. Tsonga, feeling good, ran around the second ball and had a good look at a forehand. He took a crack up the line, but didn’t quite hit it squarely. The ball floated, Murray took the initative, and eventually won the point with a stab drop volley. It was as if Murray couldn’t find the concentration and will to win until he was face to face with defeat. Once he did, he gave up just two more games. By the start of the third, it was Tsonga who had lost his concentration. At 1-1. he played a slack game, nonchalanting his way back for a Murray lob on one point, and sending a drop shot into the bottom of the net on another. He was broken at love and was never in the match again. As Murray found his game, Tsonga watched his own unravel. By the end, the best he could do was leap the net after failing to reach a drop shot.

It will be Murray vs. Cilic in the final; the Scot leads 8-1 in their head-to-head. Murray said today that, after his recent layoff, he’s happy with his play, even if he has been a “little bit inconsistent or played a couple of sloppy games” in most of his matches.

“I managed to find ways to win,” Murray said. And that’s true; today he raised his game at exactly the right moment. That’s a good sign as he heads toward Wimbledon. But Murray was also given a chance to raise his game today. You can’t always count on your opponent to shank a second serve return at break point with the match on the line.

Scenes from Queen's Club: Friday

Sat, 15 Jun 2013 00:32:00 -0400

The second in a series of daily photo-dispatches from Steve Tignor, who is currently at Queen's Club. All photos by Anita Aguilar.

Tennis can bring out expressions in players you might not expect. Here the famously fiery Lleyton Hewitt betrays hope, concern, apprehension. Thankfully, his shirt still says “Come on!”

And now Rusty and his shirt are in agreement.

Ryan Harrison tried to wake up doubles partner Sam Querrey from his apparent daze today, but it couldn't keep the Americans from losing their quarterfinal.

Harrison had his struggles at the net this afternoon. His game remains a work in progress; at the moment every match he plays feels like a referendum on his future.

Tomas Berdych showed off some underused leaping skills against Marin Cilic. From what I remember, this smash went into the net.

The now-famous Queen's ball girls are happy to pose for a shot.

Juan Martin del Potro lost for the second time to Hewitt on grass today, but he seemed happy for the man he once idolized.

Andy Murray, that most physically expressive of tennis players, shows off his confident side with a a topspin forehand...

...before plunging to the depths of despair a few minutes later.

Jo-Wilfried Tsonga served and smashed his way into the semifinals today.

It's been nice for him to have Queen's to help him forget about his Paris defeat and send him into the grass season.

Is Andy Murray fast enough to outrun his shadow? It's looks possible here.

Murray's older brother, Jamie, tried his best in doubles against the Bryan brothers today, but ended up losing a match tiebreaker 11-9. Adding insult to injury, he was hit with an overhead on match point, and then had to turn around and see the Bros in mid-chest bump.

Bob and Mike Bryan moved on to the semifinals at Queen's, a tournament they've won four times dating back to 2001.

Hewitt channeled Jimmy Connors today. At 32, he could become the oldest player to win at Queen's since Jimbo did it at age 30 in 1983. And much like Connors' son, Brett, once did, Hewitt's son Cruz followed him onto court today.

Grass, the Lost Civilization

Fri, 14 Jun 2013 20:00:00 -0400

LONDON—Lleyton Hewitt couldn’t have come up with a more appropriate shot to close out his quarterfinal win over Juan Martin del Potro today. Behind a skimming slice approach, the 32-year-old father of three moved in and knocked off what looked like the simplest of volleys. The ball came high to his forehand, and he did little more than put his racquet up and block it down the line. Del Potro had expected Hewitt to go cross-court, and like so many players on this slippery surface before him, he had no chance to reverse course once he’d been wrong-footed. Hewitt’s shot may have been simple, but it was also the intelligent choice of a longtime grass-court lover and expert.

I mention this shot not, primarily, to praise Rusty, though Friday was one of the finest of this four-time Queen’s champ’s periodic returns to glory. Instead, I mention his winning volley in order to praise the surface that Hewitt loves so much, and the subtle style of tennis that it can inspire, and require. Today’s performances by Hewitt and his fellow surprise semifinalist here, Marin Cilic, were enough to make me mourn the lost civilization of grass all over again.

Hewitt’s last winner could be described as a “control shot,” which is something we don’t see much of in tennis these days. At least we didn’t see many of them through the clay season that occupied us all spring. On dirt there are offensive, defensive, and touch shots; for the most part, all of them are hit with as much spin and racquet-head speed as possible. So this week it has come as a surprise to see the men at Queen’s mixing in balls that aren’t hit with maximum spin or speed or power. Grass gives you less time, and less predictability, than other surfaces; while its quality has improved over the years, you still never know when a ball will flat line, jump straight at you, or die in the weeds. If clay is exhausting from a stamina perspective, grass is draining from a watching-the-ball perspective. Especially on a windy day like today, you have to work a little harder to make contact in the right spot.

Yesterday on a swirling Court 2, Alexandr Dolgopolov, who has one of the most elaborate forehands of anyone, cried out in frustration that he had no idea where the ball was going to go next—his contact point could be anywhere on any given shot. In these cases a simple block, with nothing fancy on it, no extra spin or pace or grand ambitions, is often the smartest play. With the right placement, the grass can do the rest. These shots mostly go unnoticed on TV, but I’ve enjoyed seeing them up close at Queen’s. Even Dolgo adjusted and had success with simple slices and blocks down the middle of the court—until he imploded all over again because of an overrule.

Today it was Cilic and Hewitt who let the court help them the most. Cilic’s quarterfinal with Tomas Berdych was textbook modern grass tennis. It was played from the baseline, but with preemptive aggression. These two tall-ballers—each is 6’5” and not known for his speed—took the earliest openings possible. Depth was rewarded and anything short was punished. Serves didn’t need to clip the line to earn a free point; a nice, biting slice out wide in the deuce court was typically good enough. Cilic’s ground strokes, which often hang dully at mid-court, sped through instead. His finest moment, like Hewitt’s, came at the net. Late in the second set, Cilic held serve by approaching down the line and blocking a backhand volley down the line. It didn’t have much pace, and it didn’t cross the service line. Yet Berdych, despite some fine flailing and scrambling, couldn’t catch up to it. There was a pleasure in watching Cilic do exactly what was necessary and nothing more, a pleasure at least equivalent to watching another player win a point with a 100-M.P.H. forehand. Used properly, grass rewards restraint.

In this, as in other ways, it feels like a lost way of tennis life. There was a time when the modern game appeared to have passed grass by, but things have come full circle in the last decade. The sport is now at its most varied and dynamic when its played on a quick, slippery, easily torn lawn, a boutique surface used for just one month each season.

It’s a lost civilization that deserves to be revived and expanded, but if anything, my trip to Queen’s has made that harder for me to imagine. When Wimbledon announced last year that it was moving back a week starting in 2015, it had seemed possible that a Masters event on grass could be squeezed in after the French Open. Unfortunately, one of the few ready made locations for it would be Queen’s, but it’s difficult to see a venue this cramped, as charming as it is, handling an event that size.

Tennis, I’m afraid, will never get its Camden Yards, the retro stadium in Baltimore that gave baseball a visible and emotional link to its past, and whose sold-out crowds quickly inspired every city with a team to imitate it. Grass-court tennis doesn’t have to be a one-month nostalgia trip. The simple pleasure of a Lleyton Hewitt volley, and victory, proved it again today. Rust, and grass, never really get old.

******

Speaking of lost civilizations, I saw and heard another from my press seats in the stadium today. A few yards away, as Hewitt and del Potro ran each other around through the late afternoon, lunch was in full swing in the Queen's Club's dining room. This being the first sunny day here in some time, the festivities naturally spilled outdoors and into the stands in front of me. Pitchers of cocktails appeared and were passed from row to row and member to member. A young lady took her shoes off and let her hair down. The laughter grew louder all around. A woman to my left, watching del Potro chase down a Hewitt lob, told her husband with a giggle that he “looked like a blind giraffe.” In these quarters, this is what’s known as getting rowdy.

Soon, though, as 4:00 P.M. drew near, the laughter turned to a low hum of impatience. Hewitt and del Potro appeared to have worn out their welcome among a club member of two—after all, Andy Murray was supposed to be on now, right? As the second set drew to a close, another woman, to my right this time, said, “Oh, good, it’s almost time for tea.”

Her husband looked at her and smiled. “Well, there is one more set to go.”

“What do you mean?”

“It’s two out of three sets.”

“Not for me, it isn’t. It’s time for tea.” A few seconds after del Potro had won the second set, she was up and bustling her way toward the club’s café.

For much of this match, four well-dressed, middle-aged men sat in front of me, sipping cocktails and bantering in a way that sounded highly urbane to my American ears. I assumed they were Queen’s members, and began to imagine their lives, their expensive cars and ski trips and...I don’t know what I imagined they did exactly, but I knew it had to be tremendous, and enviable. Why couldn't I have a life like that?

So it was with a good deal of surprise that, midway the third set, I watched as an usher walked up to their row and informed them that they had to leave. A short argument ensued, before the usher said, firmly, “I’m asking you to leave. Can I see your tickets?”

“We don’t have any,” one of the men blurted as they stood up to go. They had, from what I could tell, snuck in. It was the best thing I saw all day.

*****

Cilic Photo: Anita Aguilar

Scenes from Queen's Club: Thursday

Thu, 13 Jun 2013 21:08:00 -0400

The first in a series of daily photo-dispatches from Steve Tignor, who is currently at Queen's Club. All photos by Anita Aguilar.

Andy Murray had a banner day in his 2013 home-country debut. He won two matches and was the beneficiary of a rare sun sighting.

Juan Martin del Potro, ever the laid-back showman, was also a winner on Thursday, despite taking a tumble here.

Tomas Berdych wasn't sure about this call, but the big Czech, who says he's feeling good on grass right now, hammered his way through to the quarterfinals.

This ball girl may or may not be in mourning for a certain Bulgarian player who lost on Wednesday.

It's hard to believe Alexandr Dolgopolov can do this with his body on his serve. But it's not hard to believe that Dolgo suffered another upset today, this time at the hands of...

...Benjamin Becker, who advanced to face Andy Murray on Friday.

Feliciano Lopez was in a foul mood for most of his loss to Marin Cilic on Court 2 today. On this call, the lineswoman joined him in a yell.

Feli did get a good, hair-raising hit on this overhead, though.

Pippa Middleton is not impressed...

...and neither is her partner in green, Andy Murray, who shows off a trademark "something is in my bleeping eye" reaction to a lost point.

U.K. favorite Dan Evans, and his tattoo, fell to earth in a loss to del Potro.

Jo-Wilfried Tsonga won twice on Thursday, but says he doesn't want to make a habit of it. "I feel really bad," he admitted at the end of the day.

Two happy kids get an autograph from Andy Murray, while an even happier woman behind them prepares to double-fist two Queen's Club cocktails.

Juan Martin del Potro, who will play Lleyton Hewitt on Friday, gives thanks to his Sun God...

...while this fan takes cover from the sun as he looks forward to another match.

Royal Entrance

Thu, 13 Jun 2013 19:46:00 -0400

LONDON—“What’s so special about Baron’s Court then?”

That’s what the man with the gray ponytail in the ticket booth wanted to know. It was a fair question: I was at the Southwark tube station here, and I'd just told him that I needed to get to the Baron’s Court stop and back, each day for the next four days, and that I wouldn't need to go anywhere else in the city. This must have sounded like a highly irregular request from a tourist in London, because he eyed me as if I were from another planet, rather than just the planet known as America.

“I’m going to a tennis tournament,” I finally explained. Back in the States, this answer wouldn’t have helped me sound any less suspicious, but it seemed to satisfy him.

“Well, welcome to summer,” he answered with a gloomy smile. It wouldn't be the last time I heard those dour words from a local on this mostly cloudy, chilly, misty, sub-60 June afternoon.

But Baron’s Court, and a tennis tournament, it was—and will be for the rest of this week. For those tennis junkies who happen to be equipped with an elephant’s memory, the name might ring a bell. This is the tube stop just down the street from the Queen’s Club, a longtime nerve center of British tennis, and the one-time capital of the international amateur game. In the late 1960s and early 70s, it was here that the sport’s governing body, the ILTF (now the ITF), tried to hold off the forces of American professionalism represented by Texas oilman Lamar Hunt, who was trying to get his WCT Tour off the ground. In the view of the game’s traditionalists, Queen's and the All England Club were the temple, and Hunt and his tour were the money-changers who wanted to desecrate it—the fear at the time was that Hunt was going to take over the game entirely. The battle between the two sides was referred to by some British writers as “Baron’s Court vs. Dallas." The traditional, in other words, versus the tawdry.

Dallas and the money-changers would eventually tear down the temple walls, of course; four decades later, Queen's has been reduced to playing its own small part in the professional circus by staging a 250-level Wimbledon tune-up event every summer. The tournament’s mix of classic and commercial is obvious from the moment you get off the tube. You’re immediately hustled, with hundreds of other spectators, through the station and down the main artery of an otherwise quaint London neighborhood. Brick homes, small shops, and their many tiny chimneys are packed tightly along a narrow street. But it’s not so quaint that it can’t be swamped with advertising if need be. The trademark blue logo of Aegon, the life insurance company that sponsors all of the Wimbledon warm-ups, is visible throughout the area. Even the young usherettes who stand on the sidewalk and point the way to the club wear boat shoes colored Aegon blue.

Queen's at first glance looks like a Wimbledon for urbanites. There’s a lot less room—the club is hemmed in by apartment buildings on all sides—and a little more style. Or what Americans would call preppy style: Suits and blazers, bright ties and brighter skirts, pink socks, skinny-making jeans, and expensive sunglasses propped up on graying foreheads. Also, one conspicuous green dress, belonging to Pippa Middleton. She walked in, to the craning of many necks, during Andy Murray’s first match. A style trooper all the way, she braved the cold wind without covering up.

Inside the dark brick clubhouse at Queen's, tradition still rules. Its labyrinthine hallways and staircases have something of a Downton Abbey feel. The club’s blazer-wearing members play the role of the Crawley family, while the rest of us jeans-wearers spend the week slaving away in the servant’s quarters that surround them. Member and worker: Never, hopefully, the twain shall meet. Each walks his own hallways, drinks at his own bars, enters and exits his own bathrooms, and grazes at his own tables. Members dine at the club’s elegant central restaurant, just above the stadium court. The press stuffs its collective face in the loud and crowded Buttery in the back while sitting five to a table. I half expect a black-suited Carson to stride in with a huff of disgust and call everyone to order.

In the amateur days, the players were on the worker’s side of this divide. Now that they’re multimillionaires, it’s hard to say where they stand. They form a sort of second, equally sequestered elite. But the the club’s business doesn’t stop for them. Queen's, which was founded in 1886 (it was named for Victoria, not Elizabeth II), is home to every possible racquet sport, the more ancient and esoteric the better, and they continue to be played even as the pros take over what are still known as the lawn tennis courts.

While Andy Murray was beating Nicolas Mahut on Thursday morning, I walked in from the stadium, made a wrong turn, and stumbled onto a hotly contested court tennis match between two middle-aged men. Member and worker: Never the twain shall meet. Except when they accidentally do. I made a second wrong turn later and ended up barging through a door marked “Gentleman’s Dressing Room—Members Only.” Inside, heads turned and eyes narrowed; who was this tie-less interloper? After mumbling my apologies, I beat a hasty retreat. I’ll have to take solace in the fact that club has been forced to shut down one of its squash courts for the tournament and turn it into our media room.

There’s no question who the lord of the manor here is at the moment. The fans came out for Andy Murray today, and he didn't disappoint; the Hulky green sleeves on his Adidas shirt were even something of a match for Pippa’s dress. Rain had held Murray’s second-rounder with Nicolas Mahut over from yesterday, with the Brit up a set. On paper, No. 2 vs. No. 224 was a mismatch, but the announcer who did the introductions was properly polite about it. After running through the litany of Murray’s career achievements, he finally came to Mahut. Rather than bring up his ranking, he told the crowd cheerfully, “He can be trouble on grass!”

And he can be—Mahut is a former finalist here who, slicing and diving with abandon, pushed Murray to a tiebreaker in the second set. Muzz was annoyed enough that, after making two consecutive errors at one stage, he put his tongue in his cheek and gave his player’s box, which included Ivan Lendl, a death glare. No one glared back; his coaches and trainers stared down at their feet or up at the sky. Murray was more royal than normal in this setting. When he wanted a towel from the ball kids, he again put his tongue in his cheek and pointed his finger in their direction, like a rock star picking out a groupie from the audience. A couple of times the kid didn't take the cue, and Murray was forced to repeat the gesture, with the same nonchalance all over again.

The top-seeded Murray did his part and won two matches today, as did the tournament’s No. 2, Jo-Wilfried Tsonga. But it wasn't easy for Jo. In his first one, he was pushed deep into a three-setter by countryman Edouard Roger-Vasselin. For me, their match was a welcome back to grass-court tennis after two months of clay. The silence is the first thing you notice. There are no sneakers squeaking or grinding up the surface, as they do on hard courts and clay. There are also no shouts of “Allez Jo!” from the audience, either. The Brits clap, nothing more, nothing less, for everything.

The next thing you notice is how much tougher it is to defend on this surface. That used to be an obvious statement, until scrambling baseliners like Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic, and Lleyton Hewitt began to win Wimbledon. But it’s still true at Queen's today. The ball skips forward, often erratically, on the still-green grass—it’s hard to say why a certain ball won’t come up, but it happens roughly once a game. Depth, more than anything else, is key. Passing shots are difficult, not because the approach shot is moving too fast, but because each player must run for the ball and take a swing, while also keeping himself from slipping. This means running fast, but also taking enough tiny steps to slow down immediately. Not surprisingly, winning passing shots are rare. All-court tennis still has its rewards on grass.

Or does it? I watched this match from a favored perch in the press seats, where you can see all three courts at once. In the distance, I caught Lleyton Hewitt and Sam Querrey playing a traditional all-baseline contest at the same time. Their long rallies made them look like they could be on any hard court in the world. Perhaps now it's grass that rewards the widest variety of styles and shots.

Hewitt, as fired up as ever, won in three. Afterward, he was asked what it is about the court that suits his game.

“Over the years I grew to love it,” says Rusty, who will play Juan Martin del Potro tomorrow. “It’s no doubt my favorite surface. I’ve always moved well on grass, which is a massive thing. I’ve always had a positive attitude towards it as well, which is huge, to go out and be positive playing on the surface.”

The 32-year-old Hewitt, his competitive fire still boiling, kicked up the only real spark of energy on this gray day. His hat was still turned backward after all these years, which may have made him the least posh-looking person at the club. Yet he managed to win the crowd over.

Member and worker: In Hewitt, and all the players who will take to Queen's Club's stadium court for the quarterfinals on Friday, the twain must meet.

The Inevitables

Mon, 10 Jun 2013 14:04:00 -0400

We’ve had the Persistents and the Dominants: What’s the best co-word to describe Rafael Nadal and Serena Williams now? The Inescapables? The Undeniables? The Irresistibles? The Inevitables*? The Amazins? All of them apply: This weekend Rafa and Serena each made good on their pre-tournament favorite status and wrapped up the clay season with a fitting image. She had the French Open winner’s trophy over her head, and he had it between his teeth.

Before we make the brisk shift to grass—actually, it’s being made in Queens and Halle as I write this—here’s a look back at a few of the memorable performances from the last two weeks in Paris. It wasn’t, in case you’ve forgotten, all about Rafa-Rena.

As always, though, I can’t get to everyone. If you see someone you think deserves a grade, go for it.

*****

Serena Williams

Serena 1.0 peaked in 2004, when she was 22 years old and won four consecutive major titles. Serena 2.0, the 31-year-old version, reached another peak with her win at Roland Garros. In recent years, she has switched strings, switched coaches, and partially switched countries. Her win in Paris makes sense; that’s where she's trained for the last year, and you can see the changes and improvements in her game. She plays with controlled power now, and balances pace with consistency. She’s a more polished, and ultimately better, version, of the women who won the Serena Slam nine years ago. The last time a player was so far ahead of the field was Roger Federer in 2004-’05. But Serena still had one person left to conquer in Paris: Herself. She won this one from that most nerve-wracking of positions, that of the Overwhelming Favorite—anything but a title would have been a disaster. At the moment, only Serena can stop herself. A+

Rafael Nadal

Would Nadal’s comeback have been “complete” had he not won the French Open? Yes, even without this capstone, his return has gone better than anyone, including himself, could have imagined. Rafa should take seven months off more often; no one finds as much inspiration from the low moments, or creates as many high moments out of them. Now he’s back at an all-time peak, with his 12th major, record eighth French Open, seven wins in nine events in 2013, and a spot in London already clinched. Maybe someday he’ll get his ranking inside the Top 4.

In January we wondered whether Nadal would ever be the same; now we wonder how many French Opens he can win—11, 12, there seems to be no end in sight. Even at 27 and with his knees as they are, it appears that he’ll be a major factor at the top of the sport for years to come. We talk about Federer’s continued love for the game after 30; I think it’s a safe bet that Rafa will feel the same way. His eighth title at Roland Garros was more emotional than his first. As for the immediate future, Nadal got an important win over Novak Djokovic and raised his game higher in the final, as champs are supposed to do. He even played with his beloved “colm” when the French came after him with fire. But that’s old hat for Nadal by now. Rafa has been defying the tennis fans of Paris for nearly a decade. A+

Maria Sharapova

Was her 6-4, 6-4 loss to Serena a good or a bad sign? On the one hand, she played about as well as she can against Serena, and held her own the whole way. On the other, that wasn’t enough to get her a set. A smiling Sharapova took the positives from it, of course, and she should. Even if she didn’t find a way to play better than Serena, she found a way, with her deep ground strokes, to play with her. As a whole, her Paris title defense may also point to a new long-term consistency. This was the first time she had reached the final of a major that she won the previous year. And with her restrained but sincere concession speech, she remains a model of professionalism in defeat. A

David Ferrer

Daveed said he was nervous for the final, and that he didn’t show us his best. He was right; he played Nadal much closer in Madrid and Rome. Otherwise, Ferrer did what he was supposed to do. While he only faced one player in the Top 20, Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, Ferrer didn’t drop a set to any of them. Like Serena Williams, he’s playing his best tennis, and breaking new ground, at 31. Bonus points for his usual humility; there’s nothing fake or forced about it with Ferru. Double bonus points for bringing his parents, who are normally too nervous to watch in person. There was nothing old-hat about their reaction to seeing their son in a Grand Slam final. A

Novak Djokovic

This must be one of Djokovic’s toughest defeats, for at least three reasons. He had made Roland Garros his biggest goal for the year. He had been chasing Nadal here since 2006, when he had pronounced him “beatable” after their first match. And he was inspired by the memory of his late coach Jelena Gencic, who passed away during the event. Novak was just a few points from beating Rafa in a fifth set and most likely winning the tournament when...he ran into the net. Still, that net aside, he’s moving in the right direction. Last year he won a set from Nadal at Roland Garros for the first time. This year he won two. Someday he’s going to win three. A-

Victoria Azarenka

As with Maria, you can look at Vika’s tournament two ways. By making the semis, she advanced farther at Roland Garros than she had before. But when she got there, she lost her second straight match to her rival for No. 2, Sharapova. By the end of that one, Vika didn’t look, or sound, all that pleased. A-

Tommy Robredo

The game was as smooth as we remembered, but the grit and the emotion were something new for many of us. A run to be remembered. A-

Tommy Haas

What is this, Tommy 9.0 or so? He must be nearing the end of his nine tennis lives by now. But he’s not there yet, as he proved by beating John Isner on his 13th match point and hanging tough with Djokovic in the quarters. A-

Svetlana Kuznetsova

Predictably unpredictable, the former French champ came out of nowhere again to remind us what she can do. That is, hit with, and almost beat, Serena Williams. It will likely be forgotten, but she was a point away from being up 3-0 in the third set on her in the quarters. Is this a sign of things to come for Sveta? I’m not betting on it. B+

Jelena Jankovic

As with Robredo, it was nice to see this veteran’s game back near its best. The fluid movement, the down-the-line elan, the running commentary—she’s still a character at 28. In this age of the aged, maybe she can still be a threat, too. B+

The American Women

Four of 16 spots in the fourth round isn’t bad for a U.S. women’s contingent in Paris. Sloane Stephens reminded us why we believed in her; Jamie Hampton had a career-best win over Petra Kvitova; and, aside from Serena, Bethanie Mattek-Sands might have played the best tennis of all of them in her upset of 2011 champ Li Na. Which brings up a new and unexpected question: Can the Americans win on hard courts? B+

Gael Monfils

In a tournament of comebacks, his was the most dramatic of all. From Andy Murray on down, the tennis world remembered what we loved about La Monf. And why, when he had lost to Robredo after holding four match points, he can be so hard to love. B+

Stan Wawrinka/Richard Gasquet

With one-handers blazing over five flat-out sets, they gave us the second-best match of the tournament, and one of the best of the year so far. B+

Dinah Pfizenmaier

The young German, who lost to Radwanska in the third round, is a heavy-hitter to watch. B

Jo-Wilfried Tsonga

We were ready to believe. Jo showed as much confidence and poise as he ever has in dismissing Federer in straight sets in the quarters. Then all of the issues—with calls, with consistency, with pressure, even with shadows and noisy fans—resurfaced against Ferrer in the semis. “Today I’m the loser,” Jo said, with no understatement. B-

Roger Federer

The good news is that Federer reached his 36th straight Grand Slam quarterfinal, so he’s still not losing to players he hasn’t lost to before at these events. The bad news is that, for the first time, it felt like Tsonga was the favorite against him. Federer didn’t do anything to persuade us otherwise. C+

Ernests Gulbis

Monfils, and the crowd, were a tough second-round draw. Off-court, Gulbis criticized the Big 4 for being boring, which was wrong. But he may have accidentally done them a favor in the process: Now, if and when they speak out on a topic, we can say, “See, at least they’re not boring.” As for Ernie himself, I hope to see and hear more from him. C+

*****

*Hat tip to Kristy at Overhead Smash.

Roland Garros: Nadal d. Ferrer

Sun, 09 Jun 2013 16:19:00 -0400

Few of us expected fireworks in the French Open final between Rafael Nadal and David Ferrer, but we gladly could have done without the ones that appeared at the end of the second set. What had been a routine, one-sided match suddenly turned frightening, as two shirtless, flare-carrying anti-gay marriage protester-idiots stormed the court and headed in Nadal’s direction. French security quickly bundled and body-slammed them off the court; thankfully we didn't have to see what they had in store for Rafa and the rest of the world. But a creepy chill settled over Court Philippe Chatrier, and it would stay there for the rest of the match.

Otherwise, this was even less of a contest than had been predicted. Nadal had his serve broken in the first set and survived four break points at 3-1 in the second, but that was as much resistance as Ferrer could muster. In their previous two matches, in Madrid and Rome, Ferrer had taken a set and forced Nadal to dig deep, but not this time. Even more than usual, Rafa looked for his forehand, and he dominated with it. After a 3rd-gear first set, he raised his level of play to its absolute highest at the start of the second, stringing together a brilliant and varied series of dive-bombing ground strokes to make it 3-0. Nadal finished with 35 winners against 25 errors, a more than respectable ratio on a rainy day. Who says he can’t hit through heavy conditions?

Ferrer’s last stand came when he earned four break chances with Nadal serving at 3-1 in the second. On the last of them, the two ripped and ran through a 29-shot rally, one which Ferrer controlled until the 28th. Just as he had on a big point in their match in Madrid, Ferrer took a short ball and, rather than hit it into the open court, tried to go behind Rafa. Just as he had in Madrid, Rafa stayed home, and was ready with a winning backhand pass. As always, he was one step, and one thought, ahead of his countryman.

Last month in Rome, Nadal beat Roger Federer for the 20th time. Two days ago, he beat Novak Djokovic for the 20th time. Today he did the same to Ferrer, 6-3, 6-2, 6-3, running their career head-to-head to 20-4. Ferrer tried to grind out long rallies, and when that didn't work he tried to take control of points with his own forehand. But he had precious few short-ball opportunities from Rafa. Ferrer finished with 22 winners against 35 errors. More than a few of those errors came on break points; he converted just three of 12. As he said afterward, "I was a little bit nervous...I didn't play too good."

Nadal wins his eighth title at Roland Garros, a record for any man at any Grand Slam in the Open era. It also serves an exclamation point on what has been a remarkable comeback—he has reached the finals of all nine events he has played in 2013, and won seven of them. He’s also, despite having missed the Australian Open, the first man to qualify for the year-end championships in London.

Rain, injury, time away; Djokovic, Ferrer, even a couple of morons carrying fire—no one can take Paris from Nadal.

Roland Garros: S. Williams d. Sharapova

Sat, 08 Jun 2013 12:50:00 -0400

Two days ago, in previewing the women’s final between Serena Williams and Maria Sharapova, I wondered whether we would see a competition or a coronation. It turned out that we saw both. Sharapova, who hasn’t beaten Serena in nearly 10 years, held her own and made this one a match from start to finish. But in the end it was Serena who, as expected, hoisted her second Coupe Suzanne Lenglen, 11 years to the day after her first, with a 6-4, 6-4 win.

Sharapova said she had to do something different against Serena. What it appeared to be was to try to hit the ball within a couple of inches of the baseline on every shot. Depth was what Maria was looking for, precision depth—that’s what it was going to take to compete with Serena. To her credit, Sharapova pulled it off for much of the day, and never backed down or crumbled when it stopped working. She started fast, breaking Williams in the second game. Maria's grunt was longer and louder than normal, and she punctuated every point won with a “Come on!” When she went up 40-15 at 2-0, it looked like Sharapova might finally be a threat to her nemesis. On the next point, though, Serena decided to show her that she wasn't going to get there today. She smacked a forehand with an extra-edgy grunt of her own and fired herself up with a fist-pump—”I’m over the slow-start thing,” was the not-so-subtle message to herself. And she was. Serena came back to break serve and never trailed again.

Serena won the way she usually wins: With her incomparable serve. She hit 10 aces, including two in the final game, and lost just three points with it in the second set. Sharapova couldn’t match that; she made just 55 percent of her first serves, and faced 15 break points. But she did her best to stave off the inevitable. Maria saved four break points in the first game of the match, and five more in the first game of the second set. While she never led after the opening two games, she never let the match get away from her, either.

The serve is always a difference-maker for Serena against Maria, and so is her speed. As well as Sharapova hit the ball, and as deep as she placed it, she still finished with just 10 winners against 17 errors. Serena showed off the footwork and balance that has made her so much tougher on clay the last two years. Most important, she avoided the panic that had set in against Svetlana Kuznetsova in the quarterfinals. Serena still seemed to expect to win every point—she celebrated her winners by scolding herself for not hitting them earlier—but she didn’t let losing a few bother her. Much like the Olympic gold medal match last year, Serena was not only hellbent on beating her opponent, but hellbent on not beating herself. She was forceful, but always under control. That’s what happens when you know you have the best serve in the game to back you up.

Serena celebrated, and was crowned, at Roland Garros again—it was nice to see her show all of that joy off in a new location. In a sense, this completes a second career Slam for the 31-year old, and makes it clear that she’s the best everywhere, on every court and surface. She has lived and trained in Paris for a few years now. Today she owns it.

Roland Garros: Ferrer d. Tsonga

Fri, 07 Jun 2013 22:00:00 -0400

If the officials at the French Open thought they were doing their countryman Jo-Wilfried Tsonga a favor by letting him be the headliner today, they were highly mistaken. Instead of the crowd being revved up for his semifinal against David Ferrer, they were exhausted after four hours of epic tennis from the warm-up acts, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic. And those were the people who had stayed in the stadium. Most of the spectators, in need of a break, had vacated the stands completely. Jo was left all alone with the man known as the Little Beast, David Ferrer.

In truth, there probably wasn’t much that any audience could have done to make the early going any better for Tsonga, who looked like he needed a nap himself after waiting out Rafa and Nole. Everything fell apart for him in the second game. Serving at 0-1 and holding game point, Tsonga watched as a Ferrer return of serve clipped the tape and fell over for a winner. Jo, miffed, was broken, broken again for 0-4, and almost broken again at 0-5. Leave it to Ferrer to sit and stew all that time in the locker room, and still come out on fire. He wasn’t just out-running Tsonga through the early going, he was out-hitting him as well. Sleepy Jo was a step slow to everything.

As the second set started, though, it looked like he had woken up. With the crowd in their seats and “Allez”ing him on, Tsonga broke serve at love in the second game and rifled a forehand winner to hold for 3-0. He went up 30-0 on his serve at 3-1, but that’s when trouble struck again. Ferrer brilliantly anticipated a pass and knocked it off for a volley winner. Two points later, Tsonga flipped a backhand long and was broken. Except that Jo didn’t think his backhand had been long. Rather than putting it behind him, he argued pointlessly with chair umpire James Keothavong on the changeover. Agitated, Tsonga disputed another call in the next game, expressed his annoyance at the shadows on the court, and double-faulted to be broken.

It wasn’t over for Tsonga just yet. He shrugged that bad patch of play off, broke back, and reached set point on Ferrer’s serve at 4-5. Now Jo had the crowd revved up. Too revved up, in the case of one man. Ferrer, who waits for no one and nothing, played through the audience noise; as he tossed the ball to serve, someone yelled. Tsonga missed the return long and gestured in the direction of the perpetrator—he wanted the crowd loud, but only at the right times.

That would be Tsonga’s last best hope. With the match in the balance, he played a surprisingly passive, lethargic, and error-strewn second-set tiebreaker. There was more where that came from in the third set, as Ferrer came back from 40-15 down to break in the final game for a 6-1, 7-6(3), 6-2 win. A despondent Tsonga, who had played with such calm and confidence in beating Roger Federer two days ago, shuffled off to scattered boos and whistles; he had committed 56 errors and hit just 21 winners. Perhaps the letdown shouldn’t have been unanticipated—Jo is the fifth straight player to beat Federer at a major and lose his next match.

It was a day of disappointment in Chatrier, but not for one man. The hard-working, long-suffering, rarely-complaining David Ferrer, 31, reached his first Grand Slam final after losing five semifinals. And he deserved it: He was the better, more energetic, more aggressive player from start to finish today; he thrives in the hostile atmosphere of Davis Cup, and he thrived again in Paris. Ferrer controlled points with his ground strokes and finished them with deft drops and volleys. The baseline-loving Ferru was 17 of 22 at the net this afternoon.

Ferrer’s reward? A 24th match against his countryman Rafael Nadal. We can wait a day to remind him that he’s 4-19 in the first 23. Let him enjoy the moment. The man known, against his will, as the Little Beast has waited—and run and scratched and fought—long enough for it.

The Heroic and the Human

Fri, 07 Jun 2013 19:56:00 -0400

You know a match is a good one when neither player can fathom the shots that his opponent is pulling off. Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic spent a fair amount of Friday shaking their heads and smiling in rueful disbelief at their rival’s preposterous play. Nadal couldn’t believe Djokovic’s lunging, line-licking returns, or his above-the-shoulder tomahawk forehand winners. As for Novak, he looked for help from his coaches after Rafa dug one more impossible get out of the clay, or hooked another forehand down the line on the dead run. Alas, there was no help for either man. Rafa and Nole were back where they belong, way out on the Grand Slam high wire again.

This epic was a mirror image of their last one, in the 2012 Australian Open final. That day it had been Nadal who had survived a near-death experience in the fourth set, won it in a tiebreaker, and taken a 4-2 lead in the fifth before watching Djokovic storm back for the title. Today it was Nole who broke Rafa at 3-4 in the fourth and again at 5-6, grabbed that set in a tiebreaker, and led 4-2 in the fifth before watching Nadal take it all away, 9-7. In each of those matches, the loser was haunted by a stunning, crucial lapse. In Australia, with a chance to go up 5-2 in the fifth, Nadal had missed the easiest of backhand passing shots. In Paris, serving at 4-3 in the final set, two games from victory and a chance at his first French Open title, Djokovic gave away a point when he ran into the net after hitting what would have been a winning overhead.

In Melbourne, it took these two nearly six hours to decide a winner; today the end came in a relatively brisk four hours and 37 minutes. But this match lacked for nothing. It had the elegantly brutal corner-to-corner rallies that we expect from these two; as always, Djokovic pressed forward, forced to throw caution to the wind, while Nadal made him hit one, two, three more perfect shots. It had the ebbs and flows in momentum that have characterized their past matches: Nadal started well, but Djokovic answered in the second set, and came out swinging again at the end of the fourth. Nadal appeared beaten in the fifth, but found his confidence before it was over.

The match also had wind to deal with, time violations to shrug off, a tweener lob from Rafa, and a fifth-set argument between Djokovic and the umpire about watering the court. It was that last, strange dispute, which Djokovic wouldn’t let go, that finally threw off his concentration and led to his demise. In the rain-soaked 2012 final here, the court had been too soggy for Rafa; this year the court was too slippery for Nole. Both times the water gods, and the French officials, left Djokovic high and dry.

As I write this a few hours after the match, it's not the heroics of these two players that I want to remember; it's their flaws. When we look back at the game’s greats, its Borgs and Grafs and Lavers and Navratilovas, too often we talk about them as if they had no imperfections, as if they never choked or played the wrong shot or made a crucial blunder, never missed an easy pass or ran into the net a second too soon. We know it’s not true, that they must have been human. But we like to pretend that Gods once roamed the earth, and that they deserve our unquestioning reverence.

Some day we’ll talk the same way about Nadal and Djokovic. In 20 years, when the world’s new No. 1 is struggling in the wind at Roland Garros, we’ll say, “Rafa never would have let that ball get past him,” or “Nole would have given that weak serve what it deserved.” But as great as this match was, it also revealed their human sides.

Djokovic was determined to win this for his late coach, Jelena Gencic, but he still couldn't banish his doubts about whether he really could beat the King of Clay here, in a three-out-of-five-set match, for the first time. He fought those doubts all the way to the end, and played brilliant tennis whenever he cleared them from his head. But they returned when he evened the match at one set all, and again when he took the lead for in the fifth set. Even with 15 wins over Rafa in the past, beating him here required a different level of belief, and a more sustained elevation of his game.

Rafa had similar doubts about beating Djokovic. They had been ingrained over the course of his seven straight defeats to him in 2011-’12, and had popped up again in their match in Monte Carlo in April. He's usually on defense against Nole, scrambling to stay in points and often matches; everything about their rally patterns works against him. More than once today, Nadal took the lead, only to see Djokovic wipe it away with a return that was planted on the baseline, and a backhand winner to the corner—the Serb, Rafa's grimace in these moments said, could make it look so easy. Twice in the fourth set, just as Nadal appeared ready to drop the hammer for good, he was broken.

In Australia, Nadal succumbed to his nerves; in Paris, Djokovic let himself get distracted at the wrong time. Last time, from 2-4 down, Nole played like he had ice in his veins; today, from 2-4 down, Nadal broke out of his desperately defensive posture and rallied with new depth and aggression. He would finish this match with seven more winners than Djokovic, 61 to 54.

Afterward, Rafa said that he “deserved” this win because of the loss he had suffered in Melbourne. “Deserved” isn’t exactly the right word; if Djokovic had won the fifth set today, he would have deserved both victories as well. What I think Rafa meant is that in the case of these two matches, which were so close, so hard-fought, so well-played, so topsy-turvy, there’s justice in the fact that both he and Nole came away with one win apiece. Nadal realizes there’s not much that separates the two rivals, and acknowledges that there’s a fair amount of luck involved in deciding which one of them ends up on top.

Both matches were won with heroics on one side of the net, and human errors on the other. They could easily be reversed again in their next epic. When we think of Nadal and Djokovic as heroes and warriors, it means a lot more when we remember that they’re both human, too.

*****

From a semifinal preview to a final-round preview...

(3) Rafael Nadal vs. (4) David Ferrer
Nadal leads the head to head 19-4, and leads on clay 16-1

We’re down to the final, and on paper it doesn’t look like a thriller. These two are friends and Davis Cup teammates, and one of them frankly admits that he’s not as good as the other. So if you’re looking for fisticuffs, or even just a dark scowl across the net, you’ve come to the wrong match.

Worse, like the women’s final, it appears to be a stone-cold mismatch—heavyweight against middleweight, matador against picador. As I asked of Serena vs. Maria, will the men’s final be a competition, or another coronation for Rafa?

Let’s start with the head to head. I knew that Nadal led 19-4, but I didn’t know he was 16-1 against him on clay; that makes their matchup even more one-sided. As does the fact that Ferrer’s one win came all the way back in 2004, and that the last time he beat Rafa on hard courts, at the 2011 Australian Open, Nadal was hobbled by a leg injury. If you take that one away, Ferrer hasn’t recorded a win over his friend since 2007. When Ferru insists that he’s not as good as Nadal, he’s really just telling the truth.

As with Serena and Maria, Nadal does everything Ferrer does, and he does it better. He’s just as fast, just as well-conditioned, and just as cussed; but he’s also stronger, hits a heavier ball, and plays bigger in the big situations. Their matches can be close; there are plenty of tiebreakers and 7-5 sets in their history. This spring Ferrer won a set from Nadal in both Rome and Madrid, and was two points from winning the latter match. In Rome, Nadal absorbed Ferrer’s best shots in the second set, and made his own game more aggressive to counter it in the third. In Madrid, Nadal survived some bad early play before wearing Ferrer out in a 6-0 final set. Rafa always seems to have the answer for Ferrer, even if the question changes from match to match.

Is there anything that might alter this long-standing pattern between the alpha and beta of Spanish tennis? Here a few (improbable) possibilities:

—Ferrer will be fresher. He played three quick sets against Tsonga on Friday and has yet to drop a set in the tournament, while Nadal labored for more than four hours against Djokovic. But Rafa will have the all-important day off, and it’s hard to imagine him losing this match because he gets tired.

—Rafa could have a letdown after his semifinal win. That one felt like a final, but it wasn’t. Of course, Nadal is well aware of that, and was already guarding against any letdown before he walked on court with Djokovic. When he was asked before that match whether it was the equivalent of a final, he answered, very quickly and forcefully, “No. We are playing a semifinal.” In 2005, Nadal beat Roger Federer in the semifinals, then lost the first set of the final to Mariano Puerta. It looked like letdown city for the teenager, until he won the next three sets. I’m guessing Toni Nadal won't neglect to remind him that the tournament isn’t over yet.

—Nadal might feel a weird pressure playing Ferrer on this stage. He’s beaten his buddy everywhere else, but never in a Grand Slam final. Typically, in these matches, Rafa has faced his fellow Big 3 members, Federer and Djokovic. On Sunday, he’ll be the overwhelming favorite, whether he admits it or not. That could, conceivably, make him tight.

But there’s no reason to predict that any of this will happen. As I wrote at the start of this tournament—it’s Paris, it’s spring, it’s clay, it’s Rafa. What else do you need to know?

Pick: Nadal in three

A Competition, or a Coronation?

Thu, 06 Jun 2013 18:25:00 -0400

Watching Serena Williams flatten Sara Errani in their semifinal on Thursday, and thinking back over Serena's head-to-head history against Maria Sharapova, you might wonder whether a preview is even necessary in the case of this year’s French Open women’s final. You might be right, too—Serena vs. Maria, despite being No. 1 vs. No. 2, has the makings of an epic blowout that renders all analysis moot. But they’re still going to play the match, so I will still do the preview. And I will start by saying that stranger things than a Sharapova upset have happened. I can't recall any right at this moment, but still, there must have been something...

*****

(1) Serena Williams vs. (2) Maria Sharapova
Williams leads their head to head 13-2, and leads 3-0 on clay

The head-to-head record, while one-sided, doesn’t give you a full idea of how thoroughly Serena has dominated this match-up. She's lost to Sharapova twice in 2004, and hasn’t let it happen again. Since 2007, she’s allowed her just two sets in 11 matches.

Why has this happened? Sharapova is a career Grand Slammer, after all. First, the two women play a similar attack-at-all-times game, but Serena is better in every aspect. She’s much faster, her serve is more reliable and more of a weapon, and she hits as hard if not harder from the ground. Second, and perhaps more important, is the psychological element. A lot of people believe Serena is still exacting revenge on Sharapova for upsetting her in the 2004 Wimbledon final. I’m sure Serena hasn’t forgotten that loss, but from what she says after her matches with Sharapova these days, her dominance is also the product of respect. Serena says she’s extra careful not to give anything away against Sharapova, because she knows she won’t give up, and that she's good enough to make a run. In other words, Serena gives her respect so she can keep getting revenge.

Sharapova admitted today that her record against Serena bothers her, and that she’ll have to try something new, because nothing has worked in their recent matches. She can take at least some hope from her performance against Serena in Miami in April. Sharapova won the first set and appeared in command in the second set as well. Then Serena stopped making errors and won the last 10 games of the match. But for the first time in a long time, Sharapova did show the capability to control their rallies and make Serena worry and work. Afterward, Maria claimed to be making progress. But their last match, on clay in Madrid, was another step back, as Serena jumped on her right away and gave up just five games.

The match-up, the surface, and even their current form are all working against Sharapova—she beat Victoria Azarenka on Thursday, but she threw in 11 double-faults (along with 12 aces) along the way, and struggled to close out the match from 5-2 up in the third set. To win, or at least to be allowed into the match, Sharapova has to hope that Serena begins to beat herself. That’s nearly what happened in her quarterfinal against Svetlana Kuznetsova. As expected, Serena won the first set easily, but when it wasn’t quite as easy at the start of the second, she got more frustrated and nervous than necessary. Before that match, Serena hadn’t lost more than three games in a set in close to a month; it must have been unsettling for her to meet any kind of resistance. When she stopped dominating Kuznetsova, Serena became overwrought and acted like disaster was around the corner. But she eventually calmed down and turned things back around.

Even against Errani, it looked like it could happen again. After winning the first set in 21 minutes, Serena lost a couple of points in her first service game of the second. When she evened that game up, she fist-pumped as if she had just won a key point in a third-set tiebreaker. But Errani couldn't do enough to make Serena nervous for long, and the moment passed.

I don’t expect that to happen in the final. Serena will be the overwhelming favorite and will likely feel that pressure, but one reason she has been so good against Sharapova is that she hasn’t panicked against her—she was the overwhelming favorite in their Olympic gold medal match last year, and she lost just one game. But Maria should remember that even if she’s blown out in the first set, if she can put together a game or two early in the second, she could find herself back in it. If Serena gives her a moment of vulnerability, Sharapova, like Kuznetsova and unlike Errani, is capable of grabbing it. That's about all she can hope for in this one.

The Pick: Williams in two sets

Roland Garros: S. Williams d. Errani

Thu, 06 Jun 2013 13:47:00 -0400

You know when a match has really been a blowout? When the crowd doesn’t know what to do afterward. That was the case in Court Philippe Chatrier today, a place where the audience normally has no trouble expressing itself. But at the end of Serena Williams’ 6-0, 6-1, 46-minute thrashing of Sara Errani in today’s French Open semifinal, the tennis fans of Paris were left temporarily speechless. Rather than celebrating the American’s win, it sounded like they were having a moment of silence for the Italian.

That was understandable, because Serena barely allowed Errani to play tennis today. She won the first set in 21 minutes, won 52 points to her opponent’s 16, hit 40 winners against 12 errors, and, most impressive of all, only gave her opponent a chance to commit three unforced errors. Errani never even had an opportunity to make a mistake this afternoon.

This is, obviously, a good match-up for Serena. The undersized Errani lacks power and has one of the weakest serves in the upper echelon of the women’s game. Serena teed off on her returns and rarely allowed Errani to hit the ball from a balanced position. By the end, Williams was hitting hard and deep enough that she didn’t even have to aim for the sidelines to hit the ball past her speedy opponent. Serena did only make 52 percent of her first serves, but that isn’t really a problem when you’re winning 88 percent of points on your second serve.

Maria Sharapova, Serena’s final-round opponent, said she would watch some of this match; let’s hope she didn’t stick around for the whole thing. Can we expect more of the same when Serena and Maria meet on Saturday? Most likely, yes; Serena beat Sharapova 0 and 1 in the Olympic gold medal match last year. It’s possible, though, that after this semifinal Serena’s own expectations could be a little too high for her own good. She got nervous after losing mere points to Svetlana Kuznetsova in the quarterfinals, and she almost did the same today in the first game of the second set against Errani. Serena would do well not to expect to win every single rally against Sharapova, but right now I can't blame her for thinking it might happen.

The French Four

Wed, 05 Jun 2013 17:28:00 -0400

On the one hand, this year’s men’s semifinals at Roland Garros have given us a surprise. With David Ferrer and Jo-Wilfried Tsonga facing off in one of them, we’re guaranteed to see the first Grand Slam final to feature someone outside the Big 4 since Tomas Berdych reached the Wimbledon final in 2010. On the other hand, these four should be no surprise at all. They've clearly been the Big 4 of the last two weeks. Ferrer, Tsonga, Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal: None of them dropped a set in their mostly lopsided quarterfinal wins, and all four appear to be in something close to peak form. It’s tough to go wrong in men’s tennis at the moment.

Two Scyllas, two Charybdes—neither of these matches has a clear favorite, in my opinion. Let’s take a look at what might tip them one way or the other.

*****

(4) David Ferrer vs. (6) Jo-Wilfried Tsonga
Head to head: Ferrer leads 2-1 overall, and 1-0 on clay

For two guys who have been on tour for at least a decade, Ferrer and Tsonga have very little history against each other. Each has spent the last few years seeded in the 5-8 range at Grand Slams, and has typically lost to one of the Big 4 somewhere along the way. Which makes this a monumental match for each of them. It’s the best chance that the hard-working, long-suffering Ferrer has ever had to reach a major final, and it’s Tsonga’s best chance since he made the championship round at the Australian Open in 2008. Each of them may have wondered over the years what life would have been like without the Big 4 around. Now they’ll find out.

Judging from what he said after his quarterfinal, Jo is feeling confident. He says he has the game right now to take it to Ferrer, and the rallies will reside on his racquet. Why wouldn’t Tsonga be confident? Off the top of my head, I can’t remember seeing him play as well as he did against Federer since he ran Nadal off the court in the Melbourne semis in ’08. And that was more of a circus-act victory, while his win over Federer was solid and methodical—Tsonga moved well, anticipated well, hit every shot with confidence, never stopped attacking, and never lost his cool or appeared to feel the home-court pressure. It felt, for the first time, as if Jo believed that he should be beat Federer. If he has that attitude against a 17-time Slam winner, he’ll probably feel the same against Ferrer.

Should he? If anything, Ferrer has been even more solid and methodical than Tsonga in Paris. The Spaniard has yet to drop a set, and he’s rounded into second-week form like a champ (or a boss, if you prefer): He won his fourth-round match over Kevin Anderson 6-3, 6-1, 6-1, and his quarterfinal over Tommy Robredo 6-2, 6-1, 6-1.

Tsonga will have the crowd, but no one enjoys a Davis Cup atmosphere more than Ferrer. As Tsonga says, the result will probably be up to him. We have a good idea of what we’re going to get from Ferrer. The question is: Did the Federer win signal a new, improved, more efficient and collected Jo? If so, he can win. If not, he’ll lose.

The Pick: Ferrer in four sets

*****

(1) Novak Djokovic vs. (3) Rafael Nadal
Head to head: Nadal leads 19-15 overall, and 12-3 on clay

Which is a more important factor in making a prediction? Current form, the surface in use, or the specific qualities of the head-to-head match-up? Your answer might determine who you take in Rafole XXXV.

Looking at those categories again, though, it might not be so simple. Who is in better form? By Wednesday’s evidence, most would say Nadal. He gave up just six games in a steamroll session over Stan Wawrinka. After a nervous start to this tournament, Rafa played his best tennis in that match. His history at Roland Garros tells us two things: First, he gets on a roll; second, he wins the tournament. He’s already made one of them happen.

Djokovic wasn’t quite as efficient in his straight-set win over Tommy Haas on Wednesday. Form-wise, though, Nole could be a special case here. He’s playing in the wake of the death of his first coach, Jelena Gencic. It’s an emotional burden, but from what I’ve seen and heard so far, it has only made his determination to win this tournament for the first time more unshakeable.

As far as the surface and conditions go, there’s no question that clay, especially French clay, is still Nadal’s turf: He’s 12-3 against Djokovic on dirt for their careers, 4-0 against him at Roland Garros, and 57-1 there overall. If the forecast holds for Friday, the weather should also benefit Rafa. It's supposed to be the hottest day of the tournament, which will help his shots jump even more than they normally do.

Judging by their career head-to-head record, you might think Rafa owns the match-up advantage as well. But he doesn’t; that, for the time being, goes to Djokovic. We know how frustrated Nole made Nadal throughout 2011, and he did it again when he beat him in straights, on clay, in Monte Carlo in April. Nadal has won virtually everything in his comeback so far this year, but he’s 0-1 against Djokovic.

I would guess that Novak will begin the same way he began that match, by rifling returns and trying to get Nadal on his heels right away. It worked last time, as the two of them returned to their 2011 baseline dynamic—Djokovic controlled the rallies, especially with his backhand, while Nadal searched in vain for an answer. This is where current form can be deceptive. To beat Wawrinka, a man who has never won a set from him, Rafa had to do what he always does. To beat Djokovic, who takes him out of his game with his speed, consistency, and backhand, Rafa will have to do something different. It’s up to him to turn the rally dynamics with Nole back in his favor, as he did in 2012.

Djokovic will come in with a deep sense of purpose: To bring home the Roland Garros trophy in memory of Gencic. By contrast, I think Nadal will come in fairly relaxed. He’s won his share of titles here, obviously, and there’s no greater cause that I can see him playing for at the moment. That should work in his favor.

One wild card: The Djokovic serve. It was unusually brilliant in the quarters, and he said he hopes he can keep it up on Friday. Another serving day like Wednesday would make life much easier for him.

Pick: Nadal in five sets

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Roland Garros: Djokovic d. Haas

Wed, 05 Jun 2013 14:05:00 -0400

Novak Djokovic is known as the best returner in the game, and he hit some memorable missiles with that shot in his 6-3, 7-6(5), 7-5 win over Tommy Haas in the quarterfinals on Wednesday. But this match was more notable for how dominant Djokovic was with his serve. He hit 11 aces and didn't double fault. He won 82 percent of his first serve points and 79 percent of his second serve points. Through the first two sets, he dropped just three points on serve and held at love seven times.

He was so dominant, in fact, that he made the match feel much more lop-sided than the score told us it was. Despite Djokovic's gaudy serving stats, he still had to scrape his way through a tense second-set tiebreaker to keep Haas from squaring things up. And that was no sure thing. Haas went up 4-2 in the breaker, only to give the lead, and essentially the match, away with three ugly errors. The worst of them was a putaway backhand volley that Haas popped long—instead of a 5-2 lead, he was back to 4-3. It was just one in a long series of botched forays forward for the German, who finished an unsightly 2 for 17 at the net. Otherwise, the 35-year-old Haas fought gamely in this match, made Djokovic work for each of the last two sets, defended well from way back in the court, and finally appeared to run out of gas in the last few games.

Djokovic played this one with what appeared to be a special determination and sense of purpose—he has vowed to win the tournament for his late coach, Jelena Gencic, who passed away last week. Today he began by gunning his returns and pressuring Haas in his opening service game, and he eventually broke him twice in the first set, each time by blitzing a forehand down the line for a winner. When Djokovic did falter later, he didn’t let himself slide for long. At 5-5 in the second-set tiebreaker, with the course of the match in the balance, he hit his best shot of the day, finishing a long rally with a cross-court backhand winner. In the third set, after twice losing his concentration and losing his serve, he calmed down right away and got back to grinding the older player down. Djokovic wasn’t flawless, but he was very good, even in the forecourt. He finished with 45 winners against 25 errors, and won 22 of 27 points at the net.

Haas’ run comes to an end, and with it go the last of the one-handed backhands from Paris. Djokovic moves on to a highly anticipated semifinal with Rafael Nadal. In one of his post-match interviews, the world No. 1, who has never won at Roland Garros, had already zeroed in on a key to that blockbuster: If he can serve like he did today...