TENNIS.com - Racquet Reaction

Delray Beach: Gulbis d. Roger-Vasselin

Sun, 03 Mar 2013 17:45:00 -0500

The red Porsche parked in the corner of the court hadn't cut him off at the baseline, but Ernests Gulbis glared like a man on the verge of road rage staring down set point at 4-5 in the Delray Beach final.

Gulbis downshifted his anger into action. Stepping up toward the baseline, he ended a crackling 12-shot rally slamming a backhand winner down the line to save set point and spark a surge of seven straight points.

In a match that tested his mind as much as his reconstructed forehand, Gulbis tamed whipping winds, a tricky opponent and tempestuous emotions to score a 7-6 (3), 6-3 victory over Edouard Roger-Vasselin and capture his third career title in as many finals. The 109th-ranked qualifier won his second Delray Beach title in the last four years.

The talented and sometimes volatile Latvian craves the rush of driving fast, but grinded through an arduous course to take the title. Gulbis fought back from an 0-4 third-set hole to topple third-seeded Sam Querrey, 6-4, 4-6, 7-6 (4), and saved eight of 10 break points in beating second-seeded Tommy Haas, 6-3, 4-6, 7-6 (2) in the semifinals.

Flapping flags smacked around by the wind, which actually knocked one flag completely off its perch, could be heard on the court below as Gulbis broke for a 2-0 lead. Roger-Vasselin stood his ground in a rapid-fire net exchange, punching a forehand volley winner to break back for 1-2.

The son of 1983 Roland Garros semifinalist Christophe Roger-Vasselin, the 29-year-old Frenchman can do a little bit of everything. He showed his guile in downsizing mammoth servers Ivo Karlovic and John Isner en route to his first final. Roger-Vasselin is light on his feet, but doesn't hit as hard as the explosive Gulbis, who sailed a double fault deep to donate the break and fall into a 4-5 hole.

Serving for the set, Roger-Vasselin saved a second break point with a stinging ace down the middle before earning set point on the strength of a solid backhand approach. Before Roger-Vasselin served the set point, Gulbis stopped and briefly complained about sounds during play — it was unclear if he was talking to his opponent or chair umpire Fergus Murphy — before declaring "Come on!" and smacking his Wilson racquet against the soles of his shoes to punctuate his point.

Festering anger has erupted into rage and consumed Gulbis in the past; this time he channeled it with that match-changing backhand winner that reverberated in the minds of both men.

"I had a set point, but he hit an unbelievable backhand winner," Roger-Vasselin said afterward.

Gulbis's compact two-handed backhand and his roaring serve are his signature shots; he's fiddled with his forehand for a while and currently starts that stroke by extending both arms, like a surfer seeking balance as he rises on the board. Though it looks cumbersome compared to his taut two-hander, Gulbis made it work in the breaker. He smacked two forehand winners and a forehand down the lien to set up a forehand volley winner for 3-1. Serving at 4-3, Gulbis crunched a forehand winner crosscourt followed by a blistering serve into the hip for set point, closing when Roger-Vasselin spread a slice backhand wide.

Though he can blow up points with sheer power, Gulbis scored the key break of the second set with exquisite subtlety, guiding a sharp-angled drop shot that landed about two feet over the net as he broke for 4-3. Gulbis won eight matches in all and is projected to roar up to No. 52 when the new ATP rankings are released tomorrow, but he was still thinking about the road ahead after the match.

"I hope I get the Porsche this year," Gulbis joked to organizers. "I didn't get it last time."

Dubai: Djokovic d. Berdych

Sat, 02 Mar 2013 12:43:00 -0500

Organizers rolled out the red carpet before the trophy ceremony in Dubai; center court must look like a welcome mat to Novak Djokovic at this point.

Covering the court with the exuberance of a man completing a homecoming, Djokovic won 11 of the final 15 games to defuse big-hitting Tomas Berdych, 7-5, 6-3 and capture his fourth Dubai championship in the last five years. Fans serenaded the world No. 1 with a celebratory chant of "Nole! Nole!" as multi-colored confetti showered the court. It was the 18th consecutive victory for Djokovic, who raised his record to 13-0 on the season, continuing his career-long mastery of Berdych by collecting his 13th win in their 14 meetings.

Big Berd rarely looks up to opponents—only a handful of men in the Top 100 are taller than the 6’5” Czech—but he can't seem to shirk Djokovic's sizable shadow. A day after fighting off three match points in an electric three-set semifinal win over five-time champion Roger Federer, Berdych drew first blood in the final.

Stretched wide, the third seed extended the point with a one-handed slice backhand, streaked to the opposite sideline then lifted a running forehand pass crosscourt that eluded a lunging Djokovic as the fist-pumping Czech broke for a 3-2 lead. In the sixth game, the weight of a Berdych forehand drive nearly knocked Djokovic backward, like a man whose rib-cage was rattled by a medicine ball hurled into his mid-section. A slashing inside-out forehand from Berdych helped him consolidate for a 4-2 advantage.

Two penetrating shots — a thunderous first serve and his bold two-handed backhand down the line — helped power Berdych to the lead, but Djokovic never blinked. He's seen this script before and has a clear idea of how the story ends.

This is a comfortable match-up for the six-time Grand Slam champion because he's the more agile athlete, he's quicker around the court, a better ball-striker on the run and shrewder at changing up the spins on his shots, which gives him access to angles the flatter-hitting Berdych can't consistently produce. Though Berdych has scored significant doubles victories in leading the Czech Republic to the Davis Cup, he often looks averse to the front court and is prone to playing clunky volleys under pressure. It cost him when he hammered a backhand down the line to open the court, but bungled a routine high forehand volley, slapping it into net to drop serve for 4-all in a deflating donation.

Djokovic stumbled after a return blast from Berdych, banging up his right toe in the process, but couldn't catch up to the blistering shot facing a third break point in the ninth game. An effective slice serve out wide set up a crackling two-hander crosscourt as Djokovic denied the break point, eventually holding for 5-4 after 41 minutes of often explosive play.

The Berdych backhand that was so vital in erecting the lead proved critical in eradicating it. Sailing a pair of backhands beyond the baseline, Berdych fell into a double-set point deficit and succumbed to the pressure, double-faulting deep. Djokovic won eight of the final nine points in seizing the first set in 51 minutes.

Snapping off successive aces, Djokovic held at 30 to open the second set; Berdych responded with a three-ace game for 1-all. Digging out of a 0-30 hole in the seventh game and exploiting his advantage in running rallies, Djokovic worked over the Berdych backhand diligently drawing errors and winning four straight points to hold for 4-3.

Pressure-induced cracks in the eight game expanded into a full-blown break when Berdych mis-hit a forehand long to face a break point. Djokovic curled a clever lob into the corner that forced Berdych to wait for the ball to bounce, he slid an overhead wide handing Djokovic the crucial break and a 5-3 second-set lead. The top seed played the pivotal points with more care: Djokovic converted three of four break-point chances; Berdych was one of five on break-point opportunities.

Towering flat-ball hitters have learned that trying to hit through Djokovic is as effective as slamming your head against a sand castle wall. Djokovic is a combined 27-4 against three of the hardest hitters of recent years — Berdych, Juan Martin del Potro, whom he swept in the semis, and Robin Soderling.

The world No. 1 whipped an inside-out forehand to convert his second match point and wrap up an impressive one hour, 34-minute conquest. Realizing his latest red-carpet moment with some timely trips to net and an enduring sense of calm, Djokovic rolled to his 36th career title without surrendering a set.

Marseille: Berdych d. Gulbis

Wed, 20 Feb 2013 14:45:00 -0500

It doesn’t take much to make people hopeful about Ernests Gulbis again, does it? Coming into Rotterdam last week, everyone’s favorite lackadaisical Latvian was ranked firmly in the triple digits and had just one victory on the year. Brandishing a strange new forehand, though, Gulbis emerged from qualifying to reach the round of 16 and gave eventual champ Juan Martin del Potro a decent run for his money there. Even better, Gulbis claimed that he was going to cut back on the drinking and smoking. Fans wondered, not for the first, second, or even the third time: Was the 24-year-old Ernie, who has beaten Roger Federer and challenged Rafael Nadal on clay, and who is still the owner of a world-class serve, ready to turn things around at last?

We got our next piece of evidence today, when the 118th-ranked Gulbis faced top seed Tomas Berdych in Marseille. While Gulbis lost 6-4, 6-7 (10), 6-4, and that strange forehand failed him many, many times, this wasn’t a match that should make anyone write him off again just yet. Gulbis had upset Berdych in the first round at Wimbledon last year, and the Czech admitted today that he doesn’t like to play him: ‘You don’t know what’s going to happen,” Berdych said. Gulbis has the ability to take the racquet of a player’s hand, and Berdych, a power player himself, isn’t used to that.

What happened in the first set of this match, though, was fairly predictable. Gulbis earned two break points at 2-2, went for big forehand returns, and missed both of them. The two players then held until Gulbis was serving at 4-5. At 30-30 in that game, Gulbis drilled a backhand into the net. Down set point, he drilled a forehand into the net. What had been a close set was suddenly over.

The real surprise in this match wasn’t from the Gulbis side of the net; it was the fact that Berdych couldn’t close out the second set, and never looked comfortable on the court. After trading breaks in the middle of the set, the two went to a tiebreaker. Berdych saved two set points, only to squander three match points, one with a shank on a makeable forehand volley. Worse, he dumped a tentative forehand into the net at 10-10, and lost the set on a Gulbis forehand winner on the next point. Berdych really doesn’t like to play Gulbis; the Czech looked as tight trying to close out No. 118 as he does when he’s trying to close out one of the Big 4.

But he wasn’t tight enough to lose it. Berdych broke at 2-2 in the third, when Gulbis double-faulted and missed a forehand badly at break point. From there, Berdych held out, but it still wasn’t easy. He lost two more match points at 5-4, before kicking a nasty second serve into Gulbis’s body for the win, on his sixth match point.

Berdych advances to play the winner of Julien Benneteau and Jerzy Janowicz, and could be a tough out after surviving this one. As for Gulbis, I can’t say I like the new forehand. It involves a huge swooping motion with his left arm; by the time he gets around to swinging, he’s often on his back foot, and can look something like a tilting scarecrow as he hits.

If there’s going to be a Gulbis resurrection, it won’t be his forehand technique that leads the way. It will be, as it is for every player, how he deals with the psychological ebbs and flows of a match. Today he hung in when he was behind, saving five match points. But he didn’t deal with success all that well. He squandered his own break points, and when he finally broke Berdych at 3-3 in the second, he immediately gave his serve back. Gulbis seemed bothered by having the lead, slamming a towel to the ground and jawing with his father in the stands.

That was nothing compared to what Gulbis did with his racquet in the third set. Down a break at 3-4, he threw it to the court, watched it bounce high in the air above him, then threw it down again and shattered it. The sound was loud enough to force chair umpire Cedric Mourier to cover his ears. When Gulbis saw him do that, the two shared a laugh, a laugh that continued even as Mourier gave him a warning for racquet abuse.

Hey, maybe it’s a sign of progress: At least Gulbis cares enough these days to crush his racquet. The smash and the laugh, after all, are part of what fans like about Ernie, and why they get their hopes up about him so easily.

Viña del Mar: Zeballos d. Nadal

Sun, 10 Feb 2013 19:35:00 -0500

Rafael Nadal arrived in Viña del Mar seeking to shake off the rust from his injury-induced seven-month absence from the sport. But as the copper-colored clay swirled around in Sunday's final, Nadal couldn't create separation from Horacio Zeballos and his dust-busting forehand.

Stepping into the court to smack his forehand with ambition, the 73^rd-ranked Argentine delivered a stunning, 6-7 (2), 7-6 (6), 6-4 upset of the seven-time French Open champion to capture his first career ATP title and spoil the fifth-ranked Spaniard’s comeback tournament.

Nadal carried a 15-match clay-court winning streak and commanding 36-4 record in clay-court finals—only Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic had beaten Rafa at that stage—into the title match against Zeballos, who was contesting his second ATP tour-level final. All this, combined with the fact that Nadal had not surrendered a set in the tournament—and the reminder than he permitted just seven games to Zeballos in their lone prior meeting at the 2010 French Open—combined to create an atmosphere of impending coronation among fans, many of whom waved and wore the Spanish flag.

None of that mattered much to the 27-year-old underdog, who opened the year winning the Sao Paulo Challenger and looked poised playing the role of party crasher. Zeballos played boldly at crunch time, winning eight straight points to close an improbable victory.

The first ATP all-lefty final since the 2010 Monte Carlo Masters saw both men attack with their forehands throughout a tight opening set. Nadal opened a 5-1 lead in the first-set tiebreaker and struck an inside-out forehand winner for set point. Anticipating Zeballos’ wide serve, Nadal was off the doubles alley when he blasted a backhand return winner down the line to snatch the set with a fist-pumping flourish that brought the crowd to its feet.

Zeballos packs his pony-tail in a bun beneath his baseball cap, reminiscent of compatriot Gaston Gaudio, and unloads a sweeping swing on his forehand that recalls fellow Argentine left-handers Guillermo Vilas and Franco Squillari. Though Zeballos has 10 Challenger titles to his credit, consistency has been a challenge: He did not surpass the second round of an ATP event last year. Zeballos saved the only two break points in a second set that escalated into another tiebreaker.

Zeballos’ forcing forehand and a biting serve brought the Argentine to set point at 6-4 in the breaker. Then, after fending off a barrage of heavy forehands, Nadal short-circuited a crackling rally with an angled backhand drop shot. Grunting himself into gear, Zeballos ran it down, but flicked a full-stretch forehand out, then proceeded to press a ball against his temple like a man pained by a bruise—and worried into might swell into something much worse. When a backhand of sailed wide on the next point, it was six-all.

But this time, with Nadal serving, Zeballos sat on the backhand return and slammed his one-hander down the line—a master strike that recalled Rafa’s backhand return winner in the first set breaker. It earned Zeballos another set point, and this time he didn't blink. Opening the court with a punishing inside-out forehand, Zeballos waited for Nadal to make his move, then struck a sweeping forehand behind him to force a third set. It was the third tiebreaker Zeballos won this week—he beat Albert Ramos, 7-6 (6), in the third set of the quarterfinals, and defeated Carlos Berlocq, 6-3, 7-6 (4), in the semifinals.

When Nadal broke at love to open the third set, it appeared order had been restored. But the former No. 1 did not consistently produce the depth on his groundstrokes and paid the price. Nadal saved two break points in the very next game, but blocked a forehand drop volley into the top of the net to immediately drop serve.

A brilliant backhand stab volley from Nadal helped him erase a break point and gut out a hold for 4-4. But rather than rue that lost opportunity, Zeballos was strengthened by the struggle. He slammed an ace wide to hold at love for 5-4 and ratchet up the pressure on Nadal, who was drifting a bit too far behind the baseline in prevent-defense mode.

Zeballos exploited Nadal's court positioning with a forehand drop shot winner, then curled a gorgeous running forehand cross-court to shockingly earn triple match point. When Nadal found the net to end the two hour, 46-minute struggle, Zeballos fell flat on his back, collapsing to the court in a combination of exhilaration, relief, and disbelief. Some members of the crowd looked so astonished by the result that the initial reaction was a bit more muted than one might expect, but when Zeballos rose, his white Fila shirt caked in crushed red brick, the realization of the win struck all.

“It's a dream for me,” said Zeballos afterward. “To be able to play a final against Nadal was already good enough for me. It's a moment that will stay in my memory for the rest of my life.”

Zeballos never shook the clay that streaked his shirt or the smile plastered across his face, while Nadal must know the bulls-eye on his back grows larger after a stunning loss like this. Still, his game will grow sharper with each match.

Doha: Gasquet d. Davydenko

Sat, 05 Jan 2013 13:12:00 -0500

When he stepped to the line to serve at 4-3 in the second set against Richard Gasquet today, Nikolay Davydenko had not been broken in Doha all week. He’d held 43 consecutive times. Two more and he would have his 22nd career title. He didn’t hold.

To that point, a Davydenko win had looked like a foregone conclusion. As he had the previous day in his demolition of top seed David Ferrer, the Russian had controlled the action against Gasquet. He had broken in the second game of the match, taken a 3-0 lead, and with little trouble had held out for the set, 6-3. Davydenko was standing on top of the baseline and punishing Gasquet with his customary lasers to the corners. After all of that offense, the Russian had closed the set with a sparkling bit of defense. Facing a break point at 5-3, Davydenko tracked down a brilliant Gasquet forehand and shot back a surprisingly hard slice that handcuffed him.

As for the Frenchman, after an early flurry of promising play at the net, he had been unable to fight his away anywhere near the baseline during most rallies. He settled for heavy topspin from deep in the court, and when he did have an opportunity, he became even more passive. Gasquet earned a break point in the second game of the second set, only to step back and let Davydenko connect on an easy forehand winner. When Davydenko held, and then broke Gasquet at 2-2 on an ill-advised serve and volley foray from the Frenchman, this one looked done and dusted.

It looked even more so one game later, when Davydenko earned two break points for a chance to go up 5-2 and serve for the title. This is when Davydenko, after being so dominant all week, finally lost that laser-like accuracy. He hit a backhand long on one breaker, and an easy forehand into the net on the next. Gasquet escaped and, in the next game, broke serve for the first time to level the set at 4-4.

Gasquet and his coach, Riccardo Piatti, had talked this week about his improved fitness, and that’s a big part of what won him this match. Yes, he spent much of his time deep in the court, but he eventually made that tactic, such as it was, work for him. He improved the depth and height on his shots as the match progressed, and watched as Davydenko imploded with 21 unforced errors in the second set, and 57 for the day.

If the body is willing, the mind will often follow, and that’s the way it was for Gasquet, who was grittier than normal this week. At 4-4, 30-30 in the second set, he hit a an ace and a forehand winner to hold. He served well in taking the second-set tiebreaker and closed it with a confident smash. He managed to keep his head after Davydenko took a nine-minute injury timeout at the start of the third set after tweaking his hip. And he did what Davydenko couldn’t do in the second set, secure an insurance break, with a dynamic scrambling pass. After a nervous hiccup trying to serve it out at 5-2, Gasquet secured the win after one last backhand error from Davydenko, 3-6, 7-6 (4), 6-3.

A winding, tiring, and ultimately surprising Doha final ended with Gasquet’s eighth title, rather than Davydenko’s 22nd. Both will be players to watch in Melbourne.

Brisbane: S. Williams d. Pavlyuchenkova

Sat, 05 Jan 2013 05:31:00 -0500

For four games, it looked like a match, potentially a very good match. It’s hard to remember now, but both Serena Williams and Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova came out firing the ball in their final in Brisbane today. They split the first four points, all on winners, and each of them closed out their service games with aces. Williams powered through all of her strokes as expected, but Pavlyuchenkova stood her ground at the other baseline and powered them right back. At one point, she even forced Serena to go to her left hand, Sharapova-style, to retrieve a ball. It all looked a little improbable from the Russian’s perspective. She’s talented, but were her hands really that fast?

They weren’t, it turned out. The first cracks in Pavs’ armor showed at 2-3, and they only grew wider from there. In that game, Williams hit three solid forehand returns, and the Russian threw in a double fault. Serena had her break, and Anastasia never got close to breaking her back—Williams lost just eight points on her serve over the course of what would be a 51-minute, 6-2, 6-1 win for her 47th career title, and first of what could be many more this season. Serena hit aces to each corner and winners with ease. To say it was “convincing” would be the understatement of the season thus far.

Pavlyuchenkova’s last and only chance came when she saved two break points at 0-1 in the second set. Serena looked a little tight on a netted forehand, but she came right back to win the game with a nicely anticipated forehand angle volley—even Serena looked impressed with herself after that one. In the next game, Pavlyuchenkova came back from 30-0 down to 30-30 on Williams’s serve, but she shanked an easy backhand off a second ball and was never in the match again. She’s now 0-4 against Serena. It's better to be able to move, rather than just hit, when you face the American. Pavs will always be a hitter first.

Still, with her wins over Angelique Kerber and Petra Kvitova, this was a strong week for Pavlyuchenkova, a former No. 1 junior with a big game who has struggled mightily to live up to her potential. She looks fitter, and her consistency has improved, but there wasn’t a whole lot she could have done tonight. Williams hit winners seemingly without risk, and was lethal and efficient in equal measures. But the most interesting stat to me was her first serve percentage: 55. That’s not even that great.

"Not even that great": You never would have known it from watching.

Doha: Davydenko d. Ferrer

Fri, 04 Jan 2013 12:32:00 -0500

If today in Doha is any indication, you can forget that Rafael Nadal is on sick leave and focus on a Big Four consisting of Novak Djokovic, Roger Federer, Andy Murray and ... Nikolay Davydenko.

Alright, so Davydenko is ranked a modest No. 44. He’s 31, and has won just two titles in the last three years. Last year, he never even made a final. But if you saw the way he demolished world No. 5 David Ferrer in the semifinals, 6-2, 6-3, you might be more inclined to pencil him in over the Spaniard as next in line for that No. 4 ranking that Nadal is about to surrender.

Davydenko routed one of the most combative, gritty, and consistent players of the past decade in a match that barely lasted an hour (officially, it was 1:04). Ferrer didn’t see a single break point, and he made 26 unforced errors to Davydenko’s 17. He also hit just six winners compared to the Russian’s 18.

The word we’re looking for is one very rarely associated with anything Ferrer: “Blowout!”

The most notable feature of the match was Davydenko’s ability to take care of his serve. It’s been a theme for him all week in Doha. It may be hard to believe, but the 5’10” veteran hasn’t dropped serve yet, and the book on him has always been that you can get into his service games and undermine his confidence.

But truth be told, both of these baseliners turned the conventional wisdom on its ear today, relying on their serves as if they were natural-born attackers rather than defenders. Davydenko scored the first break with a one-two combination of a pretty backhand down-the-line winner followed by a tricky backhand that pulled Ferrer up to the net; it forced a volley error. That led to a 3-1 Davydenko lead, which threatened to become a two-break edge when Ferrer next served and fell behind 0-40. But Ferrer hit his way out of trouble, delivering three consecutive service winners to hold for 2-3.

Davydenko followed with an impressive serving display of his own to hold quickly, and Ferrer wandered into danger again in the next game. Once again, he fell behind 0-40 as Davydenko unloaded a dazzling array of relatively flat and lethally angled groundstrokes to keep Ferrer on the run. Ferrer gamely fought off the first two break points but succumbed to the third following a nifty combination of groundies that brought Davydenko up to the net to claim the break with a volley winner. He then held with ease to take the first set in 28 minutes.

You could be forgiven for groaning at that point and thinking, “We’re in for a long one...” But Ferrer, now in panic mode, began a campaign to break Davydenko’s momentum by playing a lot of slice. That didn’t work out so well—he had to save two break points just to survive the first game of the next set. The next five games rolled by quickly; the way Davydenko was clubbing the ball, it was clear we weren’t going to be watching a lot of long rallies. That, by the way, offers a clue to the question, “How do you beat Ferrer?”

Davydenko made his final, critical breakthrough in the seventh game, once again rolling to a 0-40 lead on Ferrer’s serve. He didn’t allow Ferrer to sneak back into this one, though, slamming the door with a Nole-worthy inside-out forehand winner. Did Davydenko, ordinarily a shy and self-effacing type, really puff out chest and glare at the spot where the ball landed with that “Who’s the man?” glint in his eyes?

All Davydenko had to do then was keep his nerve. He accomplished that with ease as a dispirited Ferrer allowed yet another hold, then fell behind 30-40 on serve. Davydenko converted the match point when he ended a rally with yet another, final, backhand winner.

I’ve always like Davydenko’s game better than that of Ferrer, and this match demonstrated why. When you can take the ball early, hit relatively flat, scamper around the court nimbly and pick your angles, even a grinder extraordinaire like Ferrer can be rendered powerless.

Now let’s see you do it again, Kolya.

Brisbane: S. Williams d. Stephens

Thu, 03 Jan 2013 06:11:00 -0500

There is a tendency to compare Sloane Stephens to Serena Williams, and it’s understandable: Both African-Americans have enjoyed success in the pros at a young age and can overpower opponents with blistering shots. The two are close off the court as well, with Serena serving as a mentor to her Fed Cup teammate.

But the comparison falls short in one respect: The way the two express themselves on court. There’s no guesswork needed to figure out how Serena’s feeling—just watch her facial reactions, listen to her points, and take note of how hard she’s hitting her returns. Stephens, on the other hand, exhibits a quiet confidence, all the way down to the way she strikes her shots, which have more spin than splat. It served her very well today in Brisbane, even in defeat. For although Serena prevailed, 6-4, 6-3, Stephens’ demeanor and determination made this quarterfinal into a memorable, high-quality contest that often brought out the best in both women.

Stephens did a little tightrope-walking early on, despite matching Serena’s service holds through eight games. The 19-year-old got away with some soft second serves—once paying homage to Agnieszka Radwanska with a “squat shot” winner—and managed to snag points she was seemingly out of. But although some of this could be chalked up to Serena errors, Stephens’ poise must be commended. She can reset rallies with looping, accurate groundstrokes, then use those shots to create advantageous angles. Many of Serena’s errors came when she was on the run, but it was Stephens who forced that movement. That put the elder countrywoman into some pressure-filled situations, including facing a break point at 3-3. Serena wiped it away with an ace.

Like her attitude, Serena’s serve can sometimes come across as cavalier, but no matter what you think about it, it’s the biggest difference between herself and her opponents, and Stephens was no exception. The most powerful shot in the WTA made life difficult for Stephens as she returned—though Serena rarely got through service games unscathed—and put added importance on the teenager’s own service games. Up 40-15 while serving to stay in the first set at 5-4, Stephens made the cardinal sin of not finishing off Serena when she could. Four points later, the set was over. Serena made it so with smart second-serve returns, eschewing power for placement.

Power was never far from reach, though, for both women, and Stephens’ continuous improvement in the first set suggested that she wouldn’t fade away. And had she converted a break point in the opening game of the second set—earned with a clean forehand winner up the line—Stephens might still be out on the court as I type this. But as we’ve seen so many times, both today and in matches past, Serena’s serve came to the rescue, and it was 1-0 with a hold. The pattern was established once again.

Serena was hardly automatic in this match, but she methodically built up her score with more powerful shots, while Stephens countered with an astute performance that belies her young age. Her quiet confidence was evident in the second set, perhaps her best of the two despite winning one less game. You saw it on Stephens' face, how she carried herself, and even when she challenged a fault call on her first serve—naturally, it was reversed.

But the pattern from the first set did not disappear, and after a light first serve in the eighth game, Serena earned a break point, which she won at net for a 5-3 lead. A big “Come on!” cry followed the winner, just as it did at one instance in the first set, something Stephens called “disrespectful” during a chat with her coach. It was another illustration of the difference between the two, but in Serena’s mind, Stephens and her will have another similarity soon enough: After Williams held serve for the win, the former No. 1 declared that Stephens “can be the best in the world one day.” That’s a pretty confident statement.

Davis Cup Final: Stepanek d. Almagro

Sun, 18 Nov 2012 14:18:00 -0500

Could Czech fans have felt confident about their team’s Davis Cup fate resting with Radek Stepanek? The 33-year-old is best known for the belly-flopping post-match celebrations he once offered up, not that he ever got to show off The Worm all that often. He’s won only five singles titles in his long career, all at minor tournaments. One of the reasons for this limited success is obvious enough: Stepanek is the player that time forgot; he’s held onto a flying, whack-and-attack style that went out of fashion with the mullet.

But Spanish fans probably didn’t feel any better about having to rely on Nicolas Almagro. The 27-year-old Spaniard, ranked 11th in the world, has loads of talent but has never known quite what to do with it, especially in big matches. He’s reached just three major quarterfinals in his career, all at the French Open.

Old Man Stepanek, with his Mick Jagger lips and rock ’n’ roll showmanship, had to be considered the favorite coming into the match, for Almagro is a claycourt guy to his core and Prague’s O2 Arena has been playing like a bowling alley. Stepanek delivered in the decider, scoring a 6-4, 7-6 (0), 3-6, 6-3 victory to clinch the Davis Cup for the Czech Republic.

Of course, Davis Cup is as much about emotions and guts as it is about match ups. So it was no surprise that both players were tense and nervy early on. Stepanek clanked his groundstrokes repeatedly in his first service game. Almagro gave up two doubles faults in his. But both men held and settled in for the long haul.

Stepanek made the first move, going for outlandish winners from the baseline and picking volleys off his shoes. He earned the first set point at 4-5 with a brilliant series of checkerboard moves, sending Almagro sprinting to and fro at oblique angles until the Spaniard simply ran out of court. The Czech then nailed down the set with a thumping backhand service return that Almagro couldn’t handle. Stepanek marched off the court, fist held high, biceps and lips plumped to the bursting point.

It was clear how much this meant to the combatants: two second-tier players in the deciding rubber of a Davis Cup final. They both recognized that this match could be key to how they’ll be remembered in their sport -- or if they’ll be remembered.

True to the stakes, the match immediately proved highly entertaining, far more so than the David Ferrer-Tomas Berdych match that set it up. The difference early on was Stepanek’s variety: on a good day and up against a player outside the Top 10, he can make you believe serve-and-volley tennis really does still have a place in professional tennis. But most of all, he moved exceptionally well, hitting his forehand on the dead run with a muscular flick of the wrist, and scrambling for every shot. Almagro, on the other hand, sometimes looked like he was on Heathrow’s moving walkway, easing toward the ball with an odd, glassy-eyed detachment.

To be sure, Almagro’s sleepy countenance can be deceiving. After struggling to hold serve early in the second set, the Spaniard came alive with a whiplash down-the-line backhand winner. He turned the momentum by breaking Stepanek and then quickly holding for a 4-2 lead. Just like that, it no longer felt like a fair fight. Watching Almagro bang down huge serves and unleash that wicked one-handed backhand, you can only wonder why he hasn’t had more success on hard courts.

The thing is, as soon as anyone starts thinking such thoughts about Almagro, he starts missing shots by half a foot. Stepanek cleverly drew the Spaniard forward on a break point and then used a he-man forehand-backhand combination to level the match at 4-all.

The battle raged on into a tiebreak, but Stepanek was willing to leave more of himself out there, including skin and blood after diving for a volley. The Czech hit hard, flat groundstrokes that often skipped the net, and he carved angled volleys to within a breath of the lines. The intensity from across the net proved too much for Almagro. The Spaniard stepped back onto the moving walkway and watched the tiebreak pass him by, 7-0.

That should have been the end of Almagro. In any of the majors, it would have been the end of him. But this was Davis Cup, and Stepanek was playing his third best-of-five match in as many days. In the third set, Almagro hardly looked like a man on the ropes. He served big and hit out when he had to, and Stepanek let him do it. The set quickly went to the Spaniard, 6-3. Was Stepanek, looking increasingly bedraggled, suddenly in trouble?

Nope. He just wanted to make things a little more interesting. After scoring an early break, he continued to swoop forward, knocking off volleys straight out of a dog-eared copy of Rod Laver’s “228 Tennis Tips.” The Big Game is still a beautiful thing, and it can still rattle an opponent — especially a claycourt specialist on an indoor hard court. The mood became a little testy in the 4-2 game when partisans in the crowd decided to get into the line-calling business and Stepanek’s forehand started looking a little tight. But the Czech veteran held, pushing Almagro’s back right up against the wall. In Stepanek’s next service game, he smacked two big serves to reach match point. The end came with Almagro dropping a backhand into the net, giving the Czech Republic its first Davis Cup title as an independent country and Stepanek a secure place in tennis history books.

Davis Cup Final: Ferrer d. Berdych

Sun, 18 Nov 2012 10:05:00 -0500

We all knew from the start that Tomas Berdych was primed to be the hero of this Davis Cup final. Eleven-time major champion Rafael Nadal, who bested Berdych in the 2010 Wimbledon final, decided to stay home to rest his knees a while longer. And the tie was being played in Prague on what Spanish captain Alex Corretja called “the fastest surface of the year.”

But high expectations at home can be rough in this competition. Just ask Ilie Nastase, who famously called his team a “10:1 favorite” when Romania had home-court advantage against the U.S. in 1972. Or Juan Martin del Potro, whose Argentinian team faced Spain in Mar del Plata four years ago. Romania and Argentina still haven’t won the sterling silver trophy.

Sure enough, Berdych struggled against Nicolas Almagro on Friday, needing five sets to beat a player who’s never reached a tournament final on anything but clay. After that rubber, which leveled the tie at 1-all, Corretja floated the idea that Almagro’s four-hour loss was all part of the plan, that Spain was using the rope-a-dope on Berdych. Let the 6’5” Czech punch himself out in the first two days (he and Radek Stepanek beat Marc Lopez and Marcel Granollers in four sets yesterday in doubles), so on the last day diminutive David Ferrer could score a knockout against the Czech Republic’s number-one player and spark a comeback for the visitors. Which he did, to the score of 6-2, 6-3, 7-5.

Nerves and fatigue certainly appeared to be a factor right from the start as Berdych, after drifting three feet behind the baseline, lofted a backhand long to give Ferrer a break in the second game. The “ice rink” court at Prague’s O2 Arena started to look like a bad choice for the Czech Republic, which was going for its first Davis Cup as an independent nation. (Ivan Lendl, in the arena today, led Czechoslovakia to the crown back in 1980.) Spain might be a clay-loving country, but Ferrer had beaten Berdych more than once on fast, hard surfaces. And here he was, cranking inside-out forehands and down-the-line backhands, crouching into each stroke as if taking a gut shot at close range. He went up 3-0 in a matter of minutes and cruised to a 6-2 first set.

The match remained utterly without tension in the second set, with the only question being whether Ferrer would run away with the match. Horns blared and cheers erupted with every Berdych point, but the crowd didn’t really seem up for willing their man to victory. This couldn’t have been a surprise to any serious tennis fan. Like Lendl before him, Berdych has never been all that lovable. Defensive about being kept just outside the Grand Slam winner’s circle year after year, the glowering, big-hitting 27-year-old often comes across as self-satisfied and harried at the same time, like Harry Lime up on that Vienna Ferris wheel.

Ferrer has handled his own perennial bridesmaid status much better. Undersized and floppy-haired, the 30-year-old Spaniard is a natural underdog and uses it to his advantage. The small Spanish contingent in the crowd was behind him, and the Czech fans, though certainly not for him, weren’t against him. That was enough for the world’s fifth ranked player. Whereas Berdych was sluggish and out of synch, Ferrer was an unwavering electric current. When he dug out a beautifully angled inside-out forehand from Berdych and followed it with a forehand winner to break early in the second set, no one had any doubt about the outcome of the match. Ferrer easily took the set 6-3, offering up only four unforced errors.

The third set offered more of the same. Berdych fought on for hearth and home, even earning back a break for 4-all, but it was just for show. Ferrer broke again and served at 6-5. When Berdych dumped a forehand in the net to send the tie to a fifth and deciding rubber, Ferrer dropped to his knees in joy. His opponent, meanwhile, stared vacantly into the mists as he headed to the sidelines.

Berdych won two rubbers at this Davis Cup Final, but he wouldn’t be the final-day hero.

Davis Cup Final: Berdych d. Almagro

Fri, 16 Nov 2012 19:00:00 -0500

See what a little trash talk in tennis can do? That’s probably what Tomas Berdych was thinking, and lamenting, as he watched Nicolas Almagro play inspired tennis against him for five sets and nearly four hours in front of a piercingly loud Prague audience today. Earlier in the week, Berdych had called Almagro Spain’s “weak link,” the man whom his Czech team would “build its victory around.” Berdych did build his own win over him today, 6-3, 3-6, 6-3, 6-7 (5), 6-3, but by making it go as long as it did, Almagro may have done more for his own team in the long run. Berdych will most likely have to come back and play doubles tomorrow afternoon, and then the first reverse singles against a rested David Ferrer on Sunday. Judging by how the Big Berd looked at the end of the fifth set today, that could be difficult. He won the last two games in part because he was too tired to do anything but stand and let his shots rip.

Otherwise, personal rivalry aside, this was Davis Cup as usual—a sprawling, sometimes-heroic, sometimes-nervy mass of great shots, plot twists, team love, audience misbehavior, and a terrible, kazoo-like soundtrack. While Berdych tried to use his superior power to rush the clay-loving Almagro on this quick hard court, the Spaniard countered with hooking angles designed to get his taller opponent moving. The two players traded runs and lulls all evening. Berdych, the favorite, kept threatening to slam the door with his intimidating pace, while Almagro kept getting off the mat and grabbing command of the rallies back.

Berdych came in with an 8-3 record in their head to head, and once his teammate Radek Stepanek lost to Spain’s David Ferrer in the opening rubber, it became essential for him to win. But Ferrer’s straight-set victory had sapped some of the energy and anticipation from the crowd. While Berdych had the upper-hand in the early going—he broke Almagro at 4-3 with a curling crosscourt pass and won the first set—the Spaniard hit the ball well and kept his attitude upbeat. He only got better in the second, as he began to dominate from the baseline; Almagro's one-handed backhand, which he hit with as much authority you’ll ever see from him on a hard court, was the aesthetic highlight of the day. He broke Berdych with a brilliant forehand-backhand crosscourt combination to make it 4-2, and held out from there.

In general, though, Almagro had to play better than his norm to stay with the higher-ranked Berdych, and the Spaniard fell back to earth again in the third set. The turnaround came in the first two games. Almagro reached break point on Berdych’s serve—the big man appeared to be staggering—but hit a crosscourt backhand that missed by a few inches. Berdych, smiling with relief, held. Almagro double-faulted to be broken in the next game, and the Czech ran out the set from there. When Berdych opened the fourth with a love break, and followed it with a love hold, it appeared that there would be no comeuppance for the Bad Berd.

But the “weak link” refused to snap. Almagro broke for 2-3 after a couple of nervous misses by Berdych, and they held to 5-4. At that point, the charged atmosphere got another jolt, when the two players went chest to chest as they walked to the sideline for the changeover—neither wanted to give way. Fittingly, the set went to a tiebreaker, and just as fittingly, Almagro, sailing on his third wind of the day, won it 7-5 with an ace. We were all even.

Both players fought as valiantly through the decider. Berdych held off break points in the opening game with two service winners, and broke with a gutsy backhand return at 3-2. But the Czech, growing weary, couldn’t sustain it. He made two unforced errors to give the break back. As I said, though, that weariness helped Berdych in the end—it relaxed him; all he could do was hit big. At 4-3, he cranked two huge forehands to reach break point, and broke with a backhand winner. At 5-3, he opened with another forehand winner, followed it with a volley winner, and shut the door with two big serves.

When these two played in Australia this year, Berdych had refused to shake Almagro’s hand after the Spaniard had drilled him with a forehand. This time Almagro didn’t return the gesture. After four hours, he walked to the net, stuck his hand out to Berdych, gave the Czech coach a wink, and his Spanish supporters a thumbs up. Almagro may yet turn out to be the weak link on Spain’s team this weekend, but for tennis fans he something else today: a class act.

Berdych created more pressure for himself with his words, so credit him for withstanding it. Now there’s not much time for rest. He finished this match around midnight, and he’ll be out to play doubles with Stepanek tomorrow at 2:00 Prague time. The Bad Berd could still be the hero. Or he could look like the weak link himself—for helping inspire Almagro to exhaust him.

Davis Cup Final: Ferrer d. Stepanek

Fri, 16 Nov 2012 14:04:00 -0500

For a while there, David Ferrer looked like a man chasing his wind-driven fedora down the street. A guy trying to poke a bolt through a hole that he can’t see. A hipster struggling to get into a pair of freshly-laundered pipestem jeans, or jeggings.

Before the second set of the opening rubber of the 2012 Davis Cup final was over, Spain’s lead singles player and world No. 5 had been gifted no fewer than 20 break points by his opponent, the Czech Republic’s Radek Stepanek. But Ferrer had been able to capitalize and earn breaks on only of two of them—and one through no great play of his own, as it was a Stepanek double fault that gave the Spaniard his first break.

Still, it was hard to fault Ferrer. He was rarely in danger today, while Stepanek, buoyed by a home crowd and with the notorious Davis Cup nerves in play on both sides of the court, came up with numerous excellent shots and saves to keep the match close—if not quite as close as the final score in favor of Ferrer suggests: 6-3, 6-4, 6-4.

Making full use of the fast court (although not “incredibly fast” as some pundits suggested, thanks to ITF rules that limit court speed) in Prague’s O2 Arena, Stepanek played fine, often heroic attacking tennis—he won 37 of a whopping 64 forays to the net, for a 58 percent success rate. But a few key elements in the match-up and some problems in his execution ensured that Stepanek was fighting a rear-guard action all the way. It was a great demonstration of a player digging in his heels and refusing to yield to the inevitable.

The problem for Stepanek was that he served poorly, especially in the early going. He hovered around the 50 percent first-serve conversion rate for most of the first set, and finished at 56 percent. His forehand, always an assailable shot, couldn’t consistently keep him in rallies. And perhaps most important, Stepanek has a versatile backhand (both a one-handed slice and two-handed drive) but was reluctant to go down the line with it, no matter the variety. Given the extent to which Ferrer loves to sit back on his heels in his own backhand corner and dictate with his inside-out forehand, not having to worry about a Djokovic-esque down-the-line backhand blast surely made his life in this match much more comfortable.

Still, there was that pesky fedora. . .

Or, that pesky, unfamiliar attacking style. . .

In the first set, Stepanek started well but got into deep trouble in the sixth game, which he served. That game went on for a full 24 minutes, and featured seven break points and 11 deuces (and that wasn’t Rafael Nadal out there, bumping up his on-court time as if he were getting paid by the hour). Ferrer couldn’t convert any of the break chances, and when Stepanek held it appeared that he might have the momentum to win the set.

But after dropping the first point on his serve, Ferrer ripped off the next four, and suddenly the arm-weary, 33-year-old Czech found himself having to serve again. It was hardly surprising when he delivered three double faults and dropped serve to go down 3-5. By that point, Stepanek had five doubles; he would serve only one more, but that first flurry cost him disproportionately. Who cares if you throw in a double when you’re behind by two sets and a break?

Ferrer served out the first set and had two break chances in the opening game of the second set before converting on his third attempt. He made the break stick and almost added an insurance break when he had break points 16, 17, and 18 in the fifth game. But Stepanek held and—surprise, surprise—took advantage of a huge lapse of concentration by Ferrer to break for 3-3.

This would be Stepanek’s best (and last) chance to significantly alter the course of the match, and he hung in there for the next two games. In the ninth game, serving at 4-5, he saved break points Nos. 19 and 20, but couldn’t handle a Ferrer backhand service return winner on No. 21. Ahead 5-4, Ferrer banged out an ace on his third set point.

Given that Stepanek will be 34 later this month, and that Ferrer is the long-lost twin to the Energizer Bunny, it was not just unlikely but impossible that Stepanek recover and significantly extend the match. Ferrer went up an early break in the third set, and added an insurance break that came in handy when Stepanek broke him while down 2-5.

The Czech kept things undecided, if not necessarily interesting anymore, with a hold in the next game. But the inevitable came to pass in the next game when Ferrer forced a backhand volley error to end it.

World Tour Finals: Djokovic d. Federer

Mon, 12 Nov 2012 18:38:00 -0500

The margins are slim at the top of the men’s game these days. We’ve heard it many times over the last few years, but it was borne out again in the semis and the final at the ATP’s year-end championships. Yesterday I began by saying that each set between Roger Federer and Andy Murray had the same theme—a lead by Murray that was erased, seemingly from out of nowhere, by an opportunistic Federer. Twenty-four hours later the roles had changed: This time is was Federer who went up an immediate break in each set, only to watch Novak Djokovic steal both of them from him at the end. It was a fitting end to 2012, as the season’s No. 1 player edged its No. 2, 7-6 (6), 7-5—96 total points to 95.

The strange thing is that, for most of the match, it was No. 2 who had the upper hand. Federer, the master of the one-minute opening hold, out-did himself this time by closing his first service game with an easy forehand volley winner at the 55-second mark. Djokovic, by contrast, was completely unsettled to start. He was broken at love in his own opening service game, a game that featured a mishit volley from him and a routine backhand sent 10 feet long. Federer went up 3-0, and when he started the following game with an imperious forehand winner, it looked like we might see a repeat of the first-set bagel that he served to Djokovic this summer in Cincinnati.

Again, though, the margins are slim, even between a 6-0 set and one that goes to a tiebreaker. Yesterday it was Murray who failed to secure an insurance break when he had a chance; this time it was Federer. He reached deuce at 3-0, as Djokovic began stretching his back in discomfort. But Nole held with a forehand winner to get on the board. The blowout was averted, but only just. His back got better.

The key point in the set was the next one, though not for the reasons we first thought. In it, Djokovic forced Federer to scramble, only to have him come back and smack a forehand pass by him. It looked like one more highlight-reel moment in Federer’s march to a first set win, but it ended up helping Djokovic more. He ran a lot in that point; after it, he relaxed, loosened up, and left his early discomfort behind. He also found his famous return of serve, putting one on the baseline at break point, which eventually led to a Federer ground stroke going long. After all of the Federer fireworks, they were back on serve. The match had turned, and the Swiss’s forehand wouldn’t be the weapon it was early on—he finished with eight winners and 24 unforced errors from that side. Djokovic went, in the blink of an eye, from being lost at sea to very much in his running, defending, counter-punching element along the baseline.

But Djokovic was far from home free. Serving for the set at 5-4, 30-0, he got tight and made three unforced errors, including one at set point, before being broken. The two went to a tiebreaker, and neither could shake the other through the first 10 points. Djokovic took a lead at 6-5, and seemed to have a forehand pass by Federer for the set—that’s when the fun began. Roger lunged and managed a perfect drop volley; Novak somehow tracked it down and flipped it past Federer, seemingly for the set again. But Federer reached back and found a forehand crosscourt angle for a winner. Djokovic could only put his hands on his hips in disbelief as the crowd rose to its feet. A very good set had reached its peak.

After the climax—there was the anti-climax. At 6-6, Federer made a strange shot choice, trying to go down the line with a topspin backhand from deep in the court. He shanked it badly, and Djokovic closed out the set with an inside-out forehand winner.

It had been a whirlwind set, and neither players nor fans seemed quite ready for another one right away. Federer opened it by persisting through an 11-minute game, with virtual silence in the arena, to break Djokovic’s serve. The quality of play became less spectacular and more rugged as the set wore. Federer again had a chance for some insurance on Djokovic’s serve at 3-1, but again his forehand deserted him at break point. Still, when Federer served at 5-4, it looked certain that the set would be his. He built a 40-15 lead and snapped off a first serve. Djokovic, as he tends to do at these moments, snapped it right back. Federer, rattled, made two errors, went down a break point, and watched as Djokovic hit two lines to win the game.

There were hints, in Djokovic’s back-to-the-wall chutzpah and Federer’s staggered response, of the end of their fabled 2011 U.S. Open semifinal. Those hints grew harder to ignore when Djokovic hit a big crosscourt forehand at 30-30 in the next game and held for 6-5, and Federer opened his following service game by sending a shanked forehand long. After another forehand miss for 30-30 and a backhand long for 30-40, we had, very suddenly and somewhat incredibly, reached championship point for Djokovic.

Federer went up the T with his serve; Djokovic was there. A few short balls from Djokovic later, Federer approached with an inside out forehand. Djokovic was there again, with this year’s version of The Shot—a lunging backhand pass winner. Federer, who had found the perfect balance of aggression and margin against Murray, had lost it this time. He may have been guilty of not coming forward and using his chip approach enough; he may have gone crosscourt with his forehand too often; he certainly missed it too much. Djokovic was the better player when it mattered. He kept the score close when he wasn’t playing well, he tightened the ship at the end of each set, and he played brilliantly, as always, with his back to the brink.

If there were any questions as to who the Player of the Year for 2012 was, they were answered with Djokovic’s final backhand. In a year when each of the Big 4 claimed a major, and when Federer and Djokovic each had two wins against the other, it was that bullet pass, which just cleared the net and just ducked under Federer’s outstretched racquet, that provided the clinching margin. As always these days, it was a slim one, but it was enough.

World Tour Finals: Federer d. Murray

Sun, 11 Nov 2012 17:59:00 -0500

The first set of Roger Federer’s semifinal win over Andy Murray today in London was close, the second one wasn’t. But they shared a similar plot: A lead by Murray that Federer snatched away, seemingly from out of nowhere.

Federer started slowly. In the first game, he made four unforced errors and was broken, and his forehand seemed to be drawn magnetically into the net. ESPN commentators Patrick McEnroe and Brad Gilbert believed that the unsteadiness was caused by Federer’s fearful desire to counter Murray’s new, Lendl-era aggression, but it could just as easily have been a generic slow start. Either way, Murray was more proactive than normal in the early going, and it worked for him. He stepped into his backhand and went after his forehand return. On the latter shot, though, I thought he was too aggressive, and that it cost him.

At 2-0 and 3-1 Murray had opportunities to go up a double break. In the first of those games, at deuce, he smacked a low-percentage crosscourt forehand return that landed just wide. In the second of those games, up 3-1, 15-30, with a look at a second serve, Murray went for broke again on his forehand and missed by a few inches. Both times Federer went on to hold and keep himself in the second set. Overall, Murray’s determination to attack was the right one, but that doesn’t mean you can’t also play to the situation—“being aggressive” shouldn’t mean “being aggressive with every single shot.” At that stage, Federer was still getting settled and making errors. That was probably a moment for Murray, no matter what his long-term game plan was, to make Federer play a few balls. As it was, he knocked on the door, but couldn’t blow the first set open.

If Murray wanted a lesson in how to attack situationally, how to pick his spots, he didn’t need to look far. Federer showed his mastery of that skill again today. By 3-4 in the first set, he had found his range. He had stopped the errors, neutralized the Murray attack, and punctuated a forehand winner with his first “Come on!” of the evening. Now it was 3-4, 30-30, and Federer felt comfortable taking the initiative. He chipped and charged the net. The ball sat up for what looked like an easy pass. Except that there is no such thing as an easy pass in the semis of the World Tour Finals against Roger Federer. Murray pulled up and sailed a backhand long. When Federer came in again, with a brilliant inside-in forehand approach, to break on the next point, the momentum had turned for good.

The first set went to a tiebreaker, and Federer saved his most well-measured shotmaking for it. He opened with a forehand winner, and hit another to make it 3-3. In perhaps the match’s biggest point, at 4-4, he came forward, hit a swing volley, and dared Murray to pass him. Murray gave his forehand a rip, straight into the net. At 6-5, Federer finished the set with a surprise serve up the T in the ad court and a deep forehand that drew another error from Murray. The London crowd, firmly in the Swiss man’s corner, roared. It felt like a great escape, and a long climb back for Murray.

That feeling never changed. Federer fed off the positive energy, while Murray sagged visibly and quickly appeared out of ideas. The key was another blown lead by the Scot. Up 40-0 on his serve at 1-1, Murray grew passive, let the game get back to deuce, and sliced a backhand limply into the net. Federer pounced again, breaking with another inside-in forehand. When Murray ended the following game by half-heartedly slicing a forehand drop shot into the bottom of the net, he appeared gutted and at sea. The fiery attack of the first set was long gone. At 4-2, Federer put him out of his misery with another chip and charge off of a second serve, and a sharp crosscourt backhand pass to break. Federer’s 7-6(5), 6-2 win was soon complete, and he was off to his third straight final at the 02 Arena.

Two stat stand out: Murray’s percentage of points won on his second serve (37), and the number of returns Federer missed on second serves (0; he was 34 for 34). Against most of today’s two-handed baseliners, Muzz can get away with a no-bite, middle-of-the-box second delivery. But Federer made him pay for it, both with his lack of errors and his ability to come forward at strategic moments. It’s not too much of a stretch to say that Murray’s second serve is the biggest liability of any shot among the Big 4.

Still, the story today, as it so often is, was Roger Federer. This time it was his sixth sense for what tactic to use at what moment, for when to attack and when to be safe, for keeping the score close before seizing his opportunity, for taking what's given to him, that was on display most prominently. Federer showed that it’s not enough to have an aggressive “mindset,” which is what Murray has spent the season developing. You have to use your mind to make it work for you from one situation to the next.

The next situation for Federer is Novak Djokovic. Their final tomorrow will be a fitting end to 2012. Each has a major and two wins against the other. One is No. 1 and the other No. 2. The winner may be the Player of the Year. Neither wants an up year to end on a down note.

World Tour Finals: Djokovic d. Del Potro

Sun, 11 Nov 2012 12:54:00 -0500

Novak Djokovic staged another brilliant comeback to reach the last day of the World Tour Finals for the first time since winning it in 2008, outlasting and ultimately mastering Juan Martin del Potro 4-6, 6-3, 6-2.

Appropriately for this London setting, “keep calm and carry on” seems to be Djokovic’s motto these days. Even as he raised his game in the second set, he played within himself enough to have energy and concentration to spare for the crucial third set. It was gripping from the start. Saving two break points in his first service game with a strong serve and a series of rock-solid forehands while refusing to be pushed back off the baseline, del Potro quickly hit on a couple of plays that yielded consistent dividends — judiciously-timed drop shots followed by passing winners, and smoothly redirecting the ball down the line to close cross-court exchanges. The latter play earned him 15-30 on Djokovic’s serve at 3-3, then the Serb hammered a smash into the net and it was Djokovic’s turn to save two break points in style.

There was almost nothing to separate the two, but del Potro was playing with fewer unforced errors than Djokovic, whose forehand when stretched wide was looking fragile. Del Potro unerringly targeted that spot and earned the break, serving out the set to love to finish with a 70% first serve percentage and a fist pump. He picked up right where he left off, opening the second set with a lob winner over Djokovic’s head, then getting to 15-30 after another lob which Djokovic could only unsuccessfully attempt to return between-the-legs. Although Djokovic fought off three break points to hold, at 1-1 del Potro effortlessly absorbed everything Djokovic threw at him in a 33-shot rally to break with a fine combination of forehands.

He looked all set for a return to the finals — and then it went, as it sometimes can, horribly, inexplicably wrong. Djokovic played his finest shot for a while for 15-15 and whether a consequent seed of doubt or an excess of confidence was to blame, del Potro made a rash of unforced errors to hand back the break. It was a crash back to earth heard round the world and after Djokovic held, del Potro played another terrible service game to be broken and shanked a forehand long to surrender the set, 3-6.

The smart money always has to be on Djokovic in a third set these days, and he didn’t disappoint. Suddenly fleet of foot again, he stopped trying to disrupt del Potro with slice and instead concentrated on moving him around, stretching him out wide to the backhand wherever he could and going back behind him when he couldn’t. It worked beautifully and Djokovic broke immediately to lead 2-1. With del Potro not moving well enough to control the middle of the court behind the good shots he did manage to land, it was Djokovic’s turn to mercilessly carve up his opponent with his own forehand, not blasted but repeatedly perfectly weighted and measured on to the lines. Just such a forehand on to the back of the line broke del Potro again for 5-2 and Djokovic served out the match without a thoroughly demoralized del Potro being able to put a return in court. I’d call it a stunning reversal of fortune, were it not that Djokovic has made such comebacks look almost routine.

World Tour Finals: Ferrer d. Tipsarevic

Sat, 10 Nov 2012 17:18:00 -0500

Throughout the week, the players have been at one in insisting that despite the round-robin format, they’re not thinking about qualification scenarios or mathematical permutations, but just about winning the match in front of them, as professionals, as competitors. It’s difficult to believe, to be honest, but David Ferrer at least seems to mean what he says. Already eliminated from the tournament in a particularly painful fashion — superseded in the group by del Potro, whom he beat earlier in the week — no one would have blamed Ferrer for essentially taking his ball and going home, especially with the imminent prospect of leading his team in the Davis Cup finals next weekend, especially when he lost the first set 4-6. Instead, he rallied for no particular reason other than pure competitive cussedness (money and points probably helped), defeating Janko Tipsarevic 4-6, 6-3, 6-1.

Tipsarevic, too ill to practice earlier in the week, has been more notable for gallows humor off the court than his performances on it, getting just four games in each of his round-robin matches against Federer and del Potro. With tonight’s match (aside from the aforesaid money and points) the last of his season and deciding nothing but the semifinal match-ups, it was a bizarre yet somehow fitting moment for Tipsarevic to find some manic energy — if not finesse. Ferrer started understandably flat and erratic, making 13 of his total 27 unforced errors in the first set, and Tipsarevic raced to a 4-0 lead with Ferrer a step slow and scrambling behind the baseline.

It was the best it would get for Tipsarevic, really. A hold to love for Ferrer steeled the Spaniard and serving at 4-1, Tipsarevic put himself in trouble with two unforced errors. It was all the encouragement Ferrer needed, breaking after another backhand error from the Serb, and Tipsarevic found himself mired in an exchange of breaks with the rapidly improving Ferrer. He did well to serve the set out 6-4 with a fine combination of forehand winners, but was broken to love at the beginning of the second set and somehow it was Ferrer now who was playing up on the baseline for the majority of the points while Tipsarevic was scrambling three or four feet behind it.

Still, Tipsarevic had his chances to get back in the match. In the second set, a terrible off-forehand blasted out of the court handed him the break back, and in the third, he fought his way to a break point as Ferrer served at 0-1. He couldn’t maintain the former or capitalize on the latter; handed a short ball, he tried for a backhand angle that was far too acute and did not hold serve again, broken for the match shortly afterwards.

The last big tournament played in London ended with Murray beating Federer and del Potro beating Djokovic. There will be no medals on the line this time, but there’s a big title to win and evolving rivalries to contend. It should be anything but a gloomy Sunday.

World Tour Finals: Del Potro d. Federer

Sat, 10 Nov 2012 12:38:00 -0500

After suffering six defeats to Roger Federer this year, some of them excruciating, Juan Martin del Potro gained his second measure of revenge, backing up his triumph in Basel with a 7-6 (3), 4-6, 6-3 victory to claim his place in the semifinals of the ATP World Tour Finals.

There’s no getting away from the fact that, due to the round-robin format, the stakes for the two players on the court today were heavily lopsided: del Potro had to win to avoid getting on the plane home, while Federer had already qualified for the final stages by virtue of two wins already this week. Still, there’s no question that del Potro was better and more clinical than his erratic opponent, finishing with 20 unforced errors to Federer’s 42.

It was a staccato, serve-dominated affair in which Federer’s range on his groundstrokes seemed to drift in and out of focus. Throughout the match, Federer struggled to deal with del Potro’s fearsome cross-court forehand, clearly unwilling to be drawn into the long cross-court exchanges favored by the Argentine but unable to consistently or effectively redirect the ball up the line. Still, it was the six-time champion who made the first move, earning three break points on del Potro’s serve at 3-4. The first two were saved by del Potro with an ace and a forehand right on to the baseline, but it was the third that would prove to be a troubling omen as Federer, with a strong position in the point, sent a forehand long.

It was symptomatic of the strange absence of Federer’s usually-reliable killer instinct and it came back to haunt him again in the first-set tie break. With del Potro’s forehand firing relentlessly, Federer made consecutive forehand errors, then had a backhand down the line winner overruled by the Argentine’s Hawkeye challenge. Trailing 1-6, Federer protected two set points with strong serving, but even having what he thought was a service winner for the set overturned by Hawkeye when he was already walking to his chair didn’t disturb del Potro, returning to the baseline and serving another to close out a 53-minute set.

It would prove to be the most closely-contested, with the second and third sets much quicker and decided by a single service break either way. Del Potro blinked and Federer played his best return game of the match to take a 1-0 lead in the second set. While it was enough to even up the match, the interruption to del Potro’s service rhythm proved only momentary and it was early enough in the set that del Potro did not start the third set reeling. Quite the contrary: after holding to love, del Potro pummeled Federer’s forehand for two errors and 30-30, then made a clean backhand pass up the line as Federer’s approach was not nearly testing enough. It was only one break point, but it was all that del Potro needed.

Del Potro’s service percentage climbed into the eighties as Federer’s plummeted, and with the match bedeviled by bizarrely poor line-calling (the umpire overruled only once, and that wrongly) the defending champion was frustrated enough to shout at himself by the end of the match. On his first match point, del Potro found himself scrambling at the back of the court as Federer came in but still made a shot testing enough to elicit a volley into the net which sent him into the semifinals.

World Tour Finals: Murray d. Tsonga

Fri, 09 Nov 2012 17:53:00 -0500

On the brief changeover after Andy Murray took the first set from Jo-Wilfried Tsonga today at the Urch (a.k.a. the O2 arena, which resembles a giant sea urchin), the Scot asked chair umpire Mohamed Leyhani to confirm what most everybody but himself seemed to know: that by winning that set, he qualified for the second semifinal place (right behind Novak Djokovic) in Group A at the ATP World Tour Finals.

Leyhani should have ignored the question. Remaining in ignorant bliss might have enabled Murray to make shorter work of a match in which he almost blew the the second set (Tsonga had a set point with Murray serving near the end) before he nailed it down, 6-2, 7-6 (3).

The match wrapped up a perfectly dismal World Tour Final for Tsonga, a finalist in this event last year but winless in 12 matches against Top 8 players this year. It’s back to the drawing board for Tsonga, but at least now he has the help of new coach Roger Rasheed for 2013.

Murray looked sharp at the start; he surely knew that all he needed to do to qualify for the single-elimination finale was win a set. He broke Tsonga in the very first game when the hulking Frenchman made a backhand passing shot error. It was just the beginning of Jo-Willy’s problems. Murray held, then ran off four of the next five points to record his second break.

In the blink of an eye, it seemed, it was set/qualifying point for Murray. He converted it when Tsonga overhit a forehand second-serve return.

For all of his talent as a spectacular shotmaker, Tsonga is not a player designed for the kind wind-sucking, warp-speed, angle-busting rallies in which Murray and Djokovic traffic. He’s much better off applying his power and using his energy discreetly, interspersed with those sometimes gloriously athletic episodes in which he specializes.

The problem for Tsonga is that his shot selection is still sometimes baffling, which tees it up for quality opponents, and his backhand is significantly less threatening than his forehand. Murray found that backhand often today, and it almost always ended badly for Tsonga.

Tsonga made one significant adjustment after he was bombarded in that first set. He began to play more aggressively, especially when he had opportunities to move forward to the net. For the match, Tsonga was successful on 19 of 27 trips to the forecourt. I’d guess that 20 of those forays were in the second set. That’s the kind of thing Tsonga needs to keep doing to fully exploit the advantages of his height and power—it also conserved valuable energy that ends up wasted if he repeatedly engages in long rallies that his backhand keeps him from winning.

Much like his round-robin match with Djokovic, Murray was in firm control for a good set and a half. He led Tsonga by 4-2 in the second (and had yet to face a break point), but he appeared to relax while the Frenchman suddenly seemed determined to make a fight of it, even if the effort was a day late and a dollar short.

Murray clung to his one-break lead until the eighth game, when Tsonga reached 0-40 following the longest and perhaps best point of the match, a spirited exchange that featured a little bit of everything and ended when Murray hit a defensive lob just out. Tsonga broke him immediately to get back even at 4-all. Tsonga got to set point in the 12th game, but Murray dispatched that with a convincing inside-out forehand after a brief rally and went on to force the tiebreaker.

From there, it was Murray all the way. Yet another backhand error gave Murray a mini-break for 3-2. After two holds, Tsonga made a forehand error that left him down 2-6. Murray converted his second match point with an ace.

World Tour Finals: Djokovic d. Berdych

Fri, 09 Nov 2012 11:57:00 -0500

Novak Djokovic beat Tomas Berdych in two very different but equally familiar ways today. In the first set, he did what he usually does against the bigger, stiffer Czech. Djokovic played more flexible defense, returned serve presciently, kept the ball deep and Berdych off the net, and controlled the rallies with seemingly little strain. He won that set 6-2. If you were wondering why Djokovic’s head-to-head record against Berdych was so one-sided—10-1 coming into this match—that set likely answered any remaining questions. In it, Berdych, a power player, managed just three winners and won just 31 percent of points on his second serve. In his earlier matches, against Andy Murray and Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, Berdych had been able to take his ground strokes inside the baseline and finish points at the net. Not so against Djokovic’s speed and depth.

This was Djokovic the efficient baseline machine, the tennis clinician. In the second set, we saw his other side, the tightrope walking daredevil who needs to be pushed the edge before he can relax and play his best. That guy showed up when Novak was serving, up a break, at 2-1. He hit an easy backhand long for 0-30. He let Berdych get in for a winning volley for 15-40. He was broken for the first time. It might have been the fact that with his first set win, Djokovic clinched a spot in the WTF’s semifinals, but he lost just enough concentration to give Berdych some unexpected hope. Now it was the Czech who was stepping in and dictating the neutral rallies.

The set progressed that way, with no breaks, until Djokovic served at 5-6. Berdych snapped off a backhand pass to reach 15-30. The crowd roared more loudly than it had all day; a third set looked possible. It probably looked that way to Berdych as well, because he chose that moment to make two bad unforced errors with his more vulnerable shot, his forehand. Djokovic hit an ace to hold. It was a harbinger of the tiebreaker to come.

Berdych opened the breaker with two volley winners. When he connected for a forehand winner to make it 5-1, a third set looked more than possible. But old habits, and characters, never really die in tennis, and both Berdych and Djokovic quickly reverted to familiar form. The Serb, playing fast and loose with his back to the wall as always, found his crosscourt forehand and his mind-reader's return. The big point came with Berdych leading 6-5; here was his last chance at the set. Djokovic anticipated his serve up the middle, pushed Berdych back with his return, and watched as he tried to do too much with a backhand, got his body twisted up, and blasted the ball into the middle of the net. At 6-6, Berdych’s forehand deserted him again, as he hit an inch wide. On the next point, Djokovic wrapped it up with a service winner, for a 6-2, 7-6(6) win and a ticket to the semifinals. The top seed advances with a 3-0 record and just one set surrendered.

Advice for Berdych: If the score is tight, don’t go for all-out winners on your forehand. Advice for Djokovic: If it's allowed, forfeit all of the points until you're down break point, or set point, or match point, or 1-5 in a tiebreaker. Today, when Djokovic went down by that score, it really did look like he believed he had Berdych right where he wanted him. He was almost flawless from there, while Berdych panicked.

Take your pick, clinical first set or Houdini-esque second set, now you know why Novak Djokovic owns Tomas Berdych.

World Tour Finals: Del Potro d. Tipsarevic

Thu, 08 Nov 2012 17:11:00 -0500

By the end of Juan Martin del Potro’s 6-0 first set win over Janko Tipsarevic this evening, the only question worth asking seemed to be whether the loser should have bothered showing up at all. Tipsarevic has been sick; he defaulted late in the third set against Jerzy Janowicz in Paris last week due to a virus, and was run off the court by Roger Federer on Tuesday in London. He could have pulled out and let Richard Gasquet play this one. By the start of the second set, the fans at the 02 Arena, who had paid to see this singles match and no other singles match, seemed like they wished he had. Their cries of “Go Janko” sounded half like cheers and half like heckles. Tipsy himself couldn’t blame them. Afterward he said, “I’m playing worse than horrible.”

But while Tipsarevic would lose the second set as well, 6-4, he made it respectable and, for a point or two at least, entertaining. He even seemed to gain energy as he went. At 2-4, he came up with a nice reflex forehand volley to hold, and in the following game made a stab short hop get that dropped neatly into the corner for a winner. At 4-5, when he opened with his best backhand of the day, a crosscourt winner, the crowd was fully behind him. But Tipsy’s next forehand caught the tape and refused to go over. That was as far as he would push, but it was farther than we would have thought a few minutes earlier.

I was curious to see this match mainly because I wanted to see del Potro’s form. He’s coming off a big win over one of his nemeses, Roger Federer, in Basel a couple of weeks ago, but he had succumbed yet again to another, David Ferrer, in his first match in London. While it’s hard to take too much away from today's match, del Potro did have his vintage cannon-shot forehand going from the start, he kept Tipsarevic shuttling from one corner to the other, and he backed up his second serve well—del Potro won 71 percent of those points. He also didn’t lose his concentration, even when he appeared to think that Tipsarevic was going to retire after the first set. And just when Tipsy seemed to be taking heart in the final game, del Potro came up with perhaps his best shot of the night, a flicked backhand down the line for a winner.

That’s how Tipsarevic’s season will end. As for del Potro, if he beats Federer on Saturday, he’ll go through to the semis. In most other scenarios, though, he’ll be eliminated and Ferrer will advance. It’s fitting that del Potro, who has already played Federer seven times this year and lost six of those matches, will have his season come down to one last meeting with the Maestro.