Tennis Magazine - August 2008

Transcription

INTERNATIONAL
AUGUST | 2008
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2008 WIMBLEDON CHAMPIONSHIPS
04 DOMINIC BLISS REVIEWS THE HIGHLIGHTS FROM THIS YEAR’S WIMBLEDON,
INCLUDING ARGUABLY THE CHAMPIONSHIPS’ GREATEST EVER FINAL.
GRASS COURT SEASON REVIEW
08 WHILST NADAL AND FEDERER PREPARED FOR WIMBLEDON BY WINNING A
TOURNAMENT APIECE, THE REST OF THE GRASS COURT SEASON THREW UP SOME
INTERESTING SURPRISES.
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INTERNATIONAL TENNIS MAGAZINE
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Rachel Pullan
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CLAY COURT SEASON REVIEW
12 THE 2008 CLAY COURT SEASON CULMINATED IN YET ANOTHER ROLAND GARROS
TRIUMPH FOR RAFAEL NADAL, BUT DESPITE HIS TOTAL DOMINATION, THERE WERE
OTHER WORTHY PERFORMANCES ON THE RED STUFF.
JUSTINE HENIN
18 RICHARD EATON PAYS TRIBUTE TO A TENNIS LEGEND AND ASKS WHETHER
RETIREMENT WILL PROVE TO BE WISDOM OR IMPULSE
Senior Tennis Correspondents:
Dominic Bliss
Richard Eaton
Coaching Correspondent:
Clive Carrigan
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RACKET REVIEW
21 HEAD, PRINCE AND WILSON PRO PLAYER RACKETS REVIEWED.
FOOTWEAR REVIEW
23 ASICS, HEAD, PRINCE AND WILSON FOOTWEAR REVIEWED.
BLACK ROCK MASTERS
25 NOW IN ITS TWELFTH YEAR, THE MOST POPULAR INDOOR TENNIS EVENT IN THE UK
LOOKS FORWARD TO WELCOMING PETE SAMPRAS, JOHN McENROE, STEFAN EDBERG
AND MANY MORE.
COACHING & INSTRUCTION
26 CLIVE CARRIGAN EXPLAINS HOW TENNIS IS NOW A COMPLETELY DIFFERENT
GAME FROM THE TRADITIONAL SERVE AND VOLLEY STYLE OF THE PAST.
WORLD RANKINGS
29 MEN’S & WOMEN’S WORLD SINGLES RANKINGS AT A GLANCE.
FROZEN IN TIME
30 DOMINIC BLISS LOOKS AT THE 1980 WIMBLEDON MEN’S FINAL.
INTERNATIONALTENNISMAGAZINE August 2008 | 03
www.InternationalTennisMagazine.co.uk
WIMBLEDON 2008
WIMBLEDON
CHAMPIONSHIPS 2008
by Dominic Bliss
Thanks to one of the greatest men’s finals ever, Wimbledon 2008
will be remembered as a genuine classic. As well as Rafael Nadal’s epic
win which ended Federer’s five year reign, Venus Williams collected her
fifth singles title, and it was also a good year for the Brits, with Andy
Murray making his mark and Laura Robson winning the girls’ singles.
Rafael Nadal Men’s Singles
Champion
The stranglehold has finally been broken. After his 65-match
winning streak on grass, including five consecutive Wimbledon
titles, Roger Federer has demonstrated he is human after all by
relinquishing his crown at the All England Club.
Replacing him as the new king of grass is Rafael Nadal who, in
the longest men’s final ever played at Wimbledon, beat the Swiss
champion 6-4 6-4 6-7 6-7 9-7, with the final dramatic moments
of the rain-delayed match played in near darkness.
“For me it was the most emotional match I ever played in,
probably the best,” said 22-year-old Nadal, who is not only the
first Spaniard in forty-two years to win the men’s title, but also
the first man since Bjorn Borg in 1980 to win Roland Garros
and Wimbledon titles back to back.
And what a match it was. Some are even daring to suggest it
may have been the greatest Wimbledon final of the modern
era. After the first two sets went to Nadal, Federer looked all
but defeated at three-all and 0-40 in the third. But he suddenly
roused himself and won five points in a row, eventually
leading 5-4.
The 80-minute rain delay which followed worked to the defending
champion’s advantage. He came out rejuvenated, counterpunching every blistering groundstroke that Nadal threw at
him, and eventually winning both the third and fourth set
tiebreaks. In the latter he faced down two championship points.
Despite a further rain delay and the approaching twilight, the
final set was a classic, with tennis of the very highest quality and
drama. It wasn’t until the sixteenth game that the Spaniard
eventually sealed victory.
Federer was gracious in defeat, but obviously devastated at losing
his title, describing it as his “hardest loss so far”. “I think we
both played tough until the very end,” he added. “Unfortunately
in tennis, there has to be winners and losers. There’s no draws.”
The rest of the tournament, hardly surprisingly, failed to match
the drama of the men’s final. However there were many
04 | August 2008 INTERNATIONALTENNISMAGAZINE
WIMBLEDON 2008
Roger Federer
Some are even
“daring
to suggest it
may have been the
greatest Wimbledon
final of the modern
era
episodes of greatness. Most notable, from
a British perspective, was Andy Murray’s
fourth round clash against Frenchman
Richard Gasquet. In a superb display of
gutsy tennis, the Scotsman came back
from two sets to love down to beat his
opponent 5-7 3-6 7-6 6-2 6-4. The turning
point came in the third set tiebreak when
Murray was forced to chase a ball wide,
well beyond the tramlines, before producing
a stunning backhand winner that lifted the
crowd to their feet. For a few seconds he
stood teetering on the hoarding surrounding
the court as fifteen thousand spectators
screamed their support.
its climax there were ten and a half million
Brits watching his triumph over Gasquet
on TV – publicity which will guarantee this
becomes a career-defining moment. In the
run-up to the tournament Murray’s image
had been that of a dour, surly moaner, but
now many will always see him instead as
a courageous fighter.
More important than the eventual match
win is the fact that Murray has finally
become the darling of British tennis. At
There were other moments of high drama
during the Wimbledon fortnight, including
third seed Novak Djokovic being ousted in
Andy Murray
“That was the best moment I’ve ever had
on a tennis court,” said the 21-year-old
afterwards. “To come back from two sets
to love and win it is an awesome feeling.
The crowd got behind me just when I
needed it and to have them behind me
was a privilege.”
”
the second round by Marat Safin and sixth
seed Andy Roddick wiped aside at the same
stage by Janko Tipsarevic.
The women’s draw had some surprising
upsets, too: top seed Ana Ivanovic was
demolished 6-1 6-4 in the third round by
rising Chinese star Jie Zheng, ranked only
133 in the world, while third seed Maria
Sharapova was beaten in the second
round by compatriot Alla Kudryavtseva.
There was great news for British fans in
the girls’ singles. The unseeded Laura
Robson, who lives just down the road from
the All England Club, took out the top seed
and ninth seed on her way to the final,
where she then triumphed over Thai player
Noppawan Lertcheewakarn 6-3 3-6 6-1 and
became the first Briton to win a singles
Laura Robson Girls’ Singles
Champion
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WIMBLEDON 2008
Venus Williams Women’s Singles Champion
Anyone
“
who feared a fixed
outcome between
the sisters needed
only to watch a
handful of the bullet
exchanges
”
title at Wimbledon since Annabel Croft
won the girls’ event twenty-four years ago.
The super-confident Robson said she
couldn’t wait to have a crack at the main
draw of Wimbledon next year, joking that
if she found herself up against Venus
Williams she would “take her down”.
In reality it looks like no one is able to
take Venus down right now, not even her
sister Serena. The women’s final, featuring
both siblings, was a hard-fought battle,
featuring forceful shots from both sides
of the net. Anyone who feared a fixed
outcome between the sisters needed
only to watch a handful of the bullet
exchanges - at one point Serena drilled
Venus at the net with a full-pace shot to be assured that this was real tennis
played at full intensity.
Nevertheless, Venus was uncomfortable
at beating so close a relative. “The
celebration wasn’t so exciting because my
sister had just lost,” she said of her fifth
Wimbledon win. “I was definitely thinking
about her feelings.”
The mixed doubles event also saw two
siblings in the final. This time it was the
Bryan twins – Mike teamed up with Katarina
Srebotnik and Bob with Samantha Stosur.
Despite the late start (8.32pm) and a
relocation from Centre to No.1 Court, the
match saw some quick-fire exchanges as
both pairs attempted to dominate the net.
It was Samantha and Bob, the younger
of the twins by just two minutes, who
eventually won the title. Not that Mike
will be too miffed. The brothers always
deposit any prize money they win – either
together or separately – into the same
joint bank account. A sort of Bryan twins
cooperative fund, if you will.
The duo will be miffed, however, at losing
the World No.1 spot in doubles. By winning
the Men’s Doubles title, Daniel Nestor and
Nenad Zimonjic have increased their ATP
doubles rankings so that the Canadian
player Nastor has now overtaken the
Bryan twins to reach World No.1.
In singles the world rankings of the top
two remain the same, however. Despite
losing to Nadal, Federer still holds onto
There was some consolation, then, when
the World No.1 one spot, but only just. The
the duo paired up later that day to beat
Spaniard is currently 545 points behind
Lisa Raymond and Samantha Stosur 6-2
him, a gap which could easily be closed
6-2 in the women’s doubles final – their
third Wimbledon doubles title and seventh during the American hard court season
Grand Slam doubles title together.
or the US Open with which it culminates.
Wimbledon 2008,
Wimbledon, London, England
23rd June - 6th July
Men’s Singles Final:
Rafael Nadal (ESP) bt
Roger Federer (SUI)
6-4, 6-4, 6-7(7), 6-7(10), 9-7
Women’s Singles Final:
Venus Williams (USA) bt
Serena Williams (USA)
7-5, 6-4
Men’s Doubles Final:
Daniel Nestor (CAN) &
Nenad Zimonjic (SRB) bt
Jonas Bjorkman (SWE) &
Kevin Ullyett (ZIM)
7-6(12), 6-7(7), 6-3, 6-3
Women’s Doubles Final:
Serena Williams (USA) &
Venus Williams (USA)
bt Lisa Raymond (USA) &
Samantha Stosur (AUS) 6-2, 6-2
Mixed Doubles Final:
Bob Bryan (USA) &
Samantha Stosur (AUS) bt
Mike Bryan (USA) &
Katarina Srebotnik (SLO)
7-5, 6-4
GRASS COURT SEASON
GRASS COURT
SEASON HIGHLIGHTS
Artois Championships • Gerry Weber Open • Slazenger Open • Ordina Open
DFS Classic • Eastbourne International • Surbiton Trophy
by Dominic Bliss
On opposite sides of the North Sea, the two strongest players in
the world eased into the grass court season by winning separate
Wimbledon warm-up tournaments. Rafael Nadal fought hard at Queen’s
Club to become the first Spaniard to win a grass court title in thirty-six
years. Meanwhile, over in Germany, Roger Federer cruised through to
overall victory at Halle, his service unbroken all week.
Rafael Nadal defeated Novak Djokovic 7-6, 7-5 in the final of the Artois Championships
At London’s Queen’s Club all eyes were on
the British No.1 Andy Murray. For him the
tournament couldn’t have been more local,
as he now lives a couple of miles away, just
across the River Thames in Wandsworth,
which made his daily commute very
convenient.
The start to his 2008 grass court campaign
was equally convenient thanks to a first
round bye and then a walkover in his match
against Sebastien Grosjean, who retired
injured. In the third round he was finally
tested by the Latvian youngster Ernests
Gulbis, a challenging match during which
he slipped several times because of moisture
on the court. At one point he fell awkwardly
on his thumb. Despite winning the match
in three sets, he was later forced to withdraw
from the tournament to rest the offending
digit in time for Wimbledon. Probably quite
wise, since his next match would have
involved returning shots from the hardhitting Andy Roddick, who has been known
to serve at speeds of up to 155mph.
Murray’s withdrawal allowed the top four
seeds to progress to the quarter-finals,
although not without a struggle. Argentina’s
David Nalbandian needed a third-set tie-
break to dispense with Frenchman Richard
Gasquet, while Nadal struggled through
three tiebreaks against the big-serving
Croat Ivo Karlovic before eventually beating
Novak Djokovic 7-6 7-5 in a superb final
featuring some stunning power play.
“I can’t imagine I would be here with the
title before the tournament,” said the
victorious Spaniard in slightly broken
English, but English that has nevertheless
improved drastically in the last year, just
like his grass court tennis. “The tournament
here was very, very tough – best players
of the world.”
GRASS COURT SEASON
Frank Dancevic
Roger Federer
Kateryna Bondarenko
the World No.1 and
“No.2If having
winning a tournament apiece
was all a bit too predictable
then at least other grass court
events threw up some interesting
surprises.
That wasn’t strictly true since just over
five hundred miles away the World No.1
was slugging it out against local boy Philipp
Kohlschreiber in the final at Halle and
recording a comfortable 6-3 6-4 victory.
“Whoever believes that, with this being
my fifty-fifth tournament win, I no longer
feel any emotion is absolutely wrong,”
explained Federer afterwards. “I feel good
and am not tired at all after Paris. The legs
have got used to grass now.”
If having the World No.1 and No.2 winning
a tournament apiece was all a bit too
predictable then at least other grass
court events threw up some interesting
surprises.
So short is the gap between Roland Garros
and Wimbledon that, technically, the clay
court and grass court seasons overlap. Just
as the second week is getting under way
in Paris, some of the world’s lesser-known
players are already honing their grass court
skills at the Surbiton Trophy in south
London.
This year, however, heavy rain and waterlogged courts meant that many of the
Surbiton matches had to be relocated to
the hard courts at the LTA’s National Tennis
”
Centre, down the road in Roehampton.
The men’s winner was Canadian qualifier
Frank Dancevic. Sporting a haircut
reminiscent of Gustavo Kuerten’s curly
mop, the 23-year-old from Niagara Falls
unleashed a torrent of power tennis to
beat fifth-seeded South African Kevin
Anderson in a deciding third-set tiebreak.
In the women’s event, British No.1 Anne
Keothavong gave local fans something
to cheer about by winning through to the
final before eventually losing 6-4 6-2
to New Zealander Marina Erakovic.
Keothavong, a 24-year-old Londoner,
GRASS COURT SEASON
Tamarine Tanasugarn
Agnieszka Radwanska
Slazenger Open, Nottingham, England
16th – 21st June
Final:
Ivo Karlovic (CRO) bt
Fernando Verdasco (ESP) 6-3 6-1
International Women’s Open,
Eastbourne, England
16th – 21st June
Final:
Agnieszka Radwanska (POL) bt
Nadia Petrova (RUS) 6-4 6-7(11) 6-4
Ordina Open, Netherlands
15th – 21st June 2008
Men’s Final:
David Ferrer (ESP) bt Marc Gicguel (FRA)
6-4 6-2
Women’s Final:
Tamarine Tanasugarn (THA) bt
Dinara Safina (RUS) 7-5 6-3
David Ferrer
Artois Championship,
Queen’s Club, London, England
9th - 15th June
Final:
Rafael Nadal (ESP) bt Novak Djokovic
(SRB) 7-6(6) 7-5
Ivo Karlovic
Gerry Weber Open, Halle, Germany
7th – 15th June 2008
Final:
Roger Federer (SUI) bt
Philipp Kohlschreiber (GER) 6-3 6-4
DFS Classic, Birmingham, England
7th – 15th June 2008
Final:
Kateryna Bondarenko (UKR) bt
Yanina Wickmayer (BEL)
7-6(7) 3-6 7-6(4)
Surbiton Trophy, Surrey, England
2nd – 8th June 2008
Men’s Final:
Frank Dancevic (CAN) bt
Kevin Anderson (RSA) 4-6 6-3 7-6(4)
Women’s Final:
Marina Erakovic (NZL) bt
Anne Keothavong (GBR) 6-4 6-2
was buoyed by a career-high ranking of
ninety-two in the world. She is the first
British female to grace the world’s top one
hundred since Sam Smith in the 1990s.
“My recent rise in the rankings means that
I have achieved direct acceptance into
all the upcoming grass court events this
summer,” she said afterwards. “This gives
me great confidence to go and do well.”
following week, saw seeds tumbling early
on as top seed Svetlana Kuznetsova and
third seed Vera Zvonareva both lost in
the second round. The tournament was
eventually won by Poland’s Agnieszka
Radwanska, one of the brightest young guns
on the WTA Tour, in a tight three-set final.
Meanwhile, across the Channel at
‘s-Hertogenbosch, in Holland, Thai veteran
Unfortunately confidence on its own wasn’t Tamarine Tanasugarn beat the French
good enough. The following week, at the
Open runner-up Dinara Safina to win the
DFS Classic, Keothavong couldn’t reproduce Ordina Open – only her second main tour
the same form, and in the first round was title in a professional career that started
way back in 1994.
unlucky to come up against the eventual
winner, Ukraine’s Kateryna Bondarenko,
No such late career bloomers on the 2008
who beat her soundly 6-3 6-2. Another
men’s grass court circuit. The Slazenger
British player, Melanie South, did well,
Open in Nottingham saw a final featuring
however, to reach the quarter-finals.
Ivo Karlovic and Spain’s Fernando Verdasco.
Eastbourne, down on the south coast the Moved indoors onto hard courts because
of heavy rain, it was hard fought all the way.
The 6ft 10in Croat was forced to defend
a match point before finally outgunning
his opponent 7-5 6-7 7-6 – his second
Nottingham title and tenth successive
match win at the tournament. In the doubles
final, also moved indoors, Britain’s Jamie
Murray teamed up with South African Jeff
Coetzee and the pair were unlucky to lose
to Kevin Ullyett and Bruno Soares.
In Holland, at the men’s Ordina Open,
David Ferrer took a leaf out of compatriot
Rafael Nadal’s book by becoming only the
second Spaniard since 1972 to win a grass
court title. So after a thirty-six year drought
of grass court titles, suddenly Spain gets
to celebrate two victories on the green
stuff within the space of a fortnight.
Just like buses?
CLAY COURT SEASON
RED
HOT
ON THE HOT STUFF
Roland Garros • Masters Series Rome • Masters Series Hamburg • German Open
Open Sabadell Atlantico • Masters Series Monte Carlo • Estoril Open • Valencia Open
by Dominic Bliss
The 2008 clay court season culminated in yet another Roland Garros
triumph for Rafael Nadal. But despite his total domination, there were
other worthy performances on the red stuff.
It was a disappointing and lacklustre finale
to a hard-fought clay court season. When
Rafael Nadal demolished Roger Federer
6-1 6-3 6-0 in the Roland Garros final, it
proved just how supremely dominant
the Mallorcan player has become on his
favoured surface. Taken as a whole, his
performance throughout the 2008 clay
season strongly suggests the four-time
French Open champion may become the
greatest clay court player the world has
ever seen. Some would argue he already is.
After Federer sent his final forehand long,
and was forced to watch his opponent raise
his muscle-bound arms in victory, the
Swiss runner-up looked psychologically
drained. This was the third consecutive
Roland Garros final he had lost to Nadal
and his shakiest performance yet. At the
end of the match he apologised for his
less than brilliant standard of play.
Indeed it was the most one-sided French
Open final since 1977 when Guillermo Vilas
crushed Brian Gottfried 6-0 6-3 6-0;
and at one hour, forty-eight minutes,
the shortest since Bjorn Borg beat Vitas
Gerulaitis in 1980.
Despite Federer’s uncharacteristically weak
showing, there was plenty of exciting
tennis earlier in the clay season. Typically
this is the most dynamic two months on
the tennis calendar. From the opening
balls at the Valencia and Estoril Opens in
mid-April, all the way through to Paris at
the beginning of June, the world’s fastest
and most athletic players are tested to
the max.
Things started off well for Federer when
he broke his five-month title drought and
beat Russia’s Nikolay Davydenko in the
final of the Estoril Open. The latter was
forced to pull out with a leg strain.
But after that Nadal quickly stamped
his authority, winning in Monte Carlo,
Barcelona and Hamburg. At the former,
teamed up with compatriot Tommy
Robredo, he also took the doubles title –
proof of just what a physically resilient
athlete he is. In fact, aside from a brief
slip-up in Rome, where he lost to Juan
Carlos Ferrero in the second round, Nadal
won every match he played on clay this
year. If you’re wondering how dominant
he has become on the surface, just have
a quick look at the stats. Between late
April and early June he played twentythree matches, triumphant in all but one.
Aside from his loss to Ferrero he dropped
just three sets.
Despite this stunning record, the Spaniard
wasn’t as happy as he might have been.
An increasingly congested ATP calendar,
made worse this year by the inclusion of
the Olympic Games, forced him to speak
out against the tennis authorities. “These
people are destroying Europe,” he said
of the ATP’s decision to squeeze three
Masters Series events (Monte Carlo, Rome
and Hamburg) into a four-week period.
“I think it’s impossible to play at one’s
best level. Players cannot finish matches.
When a player pulls out of an event, the
tournaments should ring the ATP, not
blame the player.”
The women’s calendar was also congested,
but not quite to the same extent. In April
and May three Tier one events (the WTA
equivalent of Masters Series) were shoehorned into five weeks. At the first, in the
South Carolina city of Charleston, Serena
Williams delighted home crowds when she
took out Russia’s Vera Zvonareva in three
sets to win the title. Then in the Berlin
final, the WTA’s new clay-courter supreme,
Russia’s Dinara Safina, defeated compatriot
Elena Dementieva. In Rome, Serbia’s
Jelena Jankovic beat France’s new kid
on the block Alize Cornet.
Unfortunately for the French, when it came
to Roland Garros, there wasn’t much to
cheer about in the women’s draw. A homegrown player hasn’t won the women’s
trophy in Paris since Francoise Durr in
1967. (You can’t really count Mary Pierce
in 2000 since she was brought up in
North America.) This year was especially
disappointing, the best performances
coming from Alize Cornet and Emilie Loit,
who managed only to scrape through to
the third round.
It was Eastern Europe which totally
dominated France’s Grand Slam. By the
fourth round stage of the tournament,
only three players from outside of the
former Eastern Bloc remained. The
semi-finals then saw two Russians, Safina
and Kuznetsova, squaring up to one
another, and two Serbians – Jankovic and
Ivanovic. It was the latter who eventually
hoisted the Roland Garros trophy above
her shoulders. With her 6-4 6-3 win over
CLAY COURT SEASON
Rafael Nadal’s performances
throughout the 2008 clay
court season, culminating with
his crushing 6-1 6-3 6-0 victory
over Roger Federer in the
French Open final, suggest that
the winner of four consecutive
Roland Garros titles is already
the greatest clay court player
the world has ever seen.
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CLAY COURT SEASON
Safina she claimed her first Grand Slam
title, and her first accession to the World
No.1 spot.
The 20-year-old revealed afterwards how
she had struggled to concentrate during
the match. “There were a lot of emotions
inside,” she said. “But until the last point
I tried not to think about the occasion and
just focus on my tennis.”
Awarding the trophy to the Serbian player
was last year’s champion, Justine Henin,
who, just before the clay season got into
full swing, announced that she was to
retire from professional tennis. It was an
unusual decision, given that clay has always
been the surface on which the Belgian is
most impressive, and it opens the doors
for any one of several female players to
cement their place at the top of the WTA
rankings. Ivanovic reached the top spot
after Roland Garros, but faces stiff
competition from the likes of Sharapova,
Jankovic, Serena Williams or even one of
the teenagers currently climbing their
way up the rankings.
But what about the British performance
on clay this year? Players from these
shores rarely cause much trouble on the
red stuff, and this year was no exception.
Andy Murray did well to reach the third
round in Monte Carlo before falling to World
No.3 Novak Djokovic; he came unstuck at
the same stage in Hamburg, this time to
Rafael Nadal, which was no shameful thing.
But then in the third round of Roland Garros
he wasted chances during his four-set loss
to Spain’s Nicolas Almagro.
20-year-old Ana Ivanovic defeated Russia’s Dinara Safina 6-4 6-3 in the final
of the French Open to become the first Serbian woman to win a Grand Slam
singles title and confirm her status as the new World No.1.
Roland Garros, Paris, France
25th May – 8th June
Men’s Final:
Roger Federer (SUI) 6-1, 6-3, 6-0
Women’s Final:
Ana Ivanovic (SRB) bt
Dinara Safina (RUS) 6-4, 6-3
Jelena Jankovic
Master Series, Rome, Italy
12th – 18th May
Jelena Jankovic (SRB) bt
Alize Cornet (FRA) 6-2, 6-2
Master Series, Rome, Italy
5th – 11th May
Novak Djokovic (SRB) bt
Stanislas Wawrinka (SUI) 4-6, 6-3, 6-3
Andy’s brother Jamie did well to reach
the doubles final at Estoril, partnering
Zimbabwe’s Kevin Ullyett, but then
struggled to find form with his new partner,
the Belorussian Max Mirnyi. In every clay
court event they entered, bar Rome, they
floundered in their first match.
German Open, Berlin, Germany
5th – 11th May
Dinara Safina (RUS) bt
Elena Dementieva (RUS) 3-6, 6-2, 6-2
Open Sabadell Atlantico, Barcelona 2008,
Barcelona, Spain
28th April – 4th May
Rafael Nadal (ESP) bt David Ferrer (ESP)
6-1, 4-6, 6-1
The performance of the British women
was even more dire. Only Elena Baltacha
and Katie O’Brien managed to qualify for
a main tour event (Fes, in Morocco), but
both lost first round.
Steven Martens, the new player director
at the Lawn Tennis Association, wasn’t
too worried about the lack of British results.
He knows that a dearth of clay courts on
this island means it will never be a surface
on which home-grown players regularly
achieve top-level success. However, he is
optimistic about the latest generation of
British juniors because they have grown
up playing on clay courts a great deal more
than their predecessors did.
“It doesn’t make them clay court specialists,”
he admits. “But it gives them valuable skills
for the future.”
Masters Series, Hamburg, Germany
11th – 18th May
Roger Federer (SUI) 7-5, 6-7(3), 6-3
David Ferrer
Roger Federer
Masters Series, Monte Carlo, Monaco
19th – 27th April
Roger Federer (SUI) 7-5, 7-5
Valencia Open, Valencia, Spain
14th – 20th April
David Ferrer (ESP) bt
Nicolas Almagro (ESP) 4-6, 6-2, 7-6(2)
Estoril Open, Estoril, Portugal
12th – 20th April
Men’s Final:
Roger Federer (SUI) bt
Nikolay Davydenko (RUS) 7-6(5), 1-2 ret.
Women’s Final:
Maria Kirilenko (RUS) bt
Iveta Benesova (CZE) 6-4, 6-2
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JUSTINE HENIN
JUSTINEHENIN
Will the retirement
of a tennis legend
prove to be wisdom
or impulse?
Will Justine Henin regret it? Bjorn Borg
certainly did. Martina Hingis probably did.
And even John McEnroe did a bit too. All
three tennis legends retired prematurely
and eventually decided to come back but were never the same again.
And Henin may have more to lose than
any of them. Arguably none gave up as
much as the brilliant little Belgian did
when she shook the tennis world by
retiring so suddenly at the peak of her
powers just before the French Open.
Henin was still only 25, had won seven
Grand Slams, and still had reasonable
prospects of winning Wimbledon, the only
major to elude her. Year by year she had
evolved a game of different hues and
tones, with a kaleidoscope of different
skills and intriguing tactical variations,
which had made her world number one
for fourteen consecutive months. The
best may have been yet to come.
Henin withstood constant assaults from
the most ferocious power games in tennis
history and did so despite possessing
the smallest physique, five feet five and
three-quarters, of any leading player.
She also survived an emotional battering
from a tortured private life. People
empathised. Never had she been more
popular. Did she realise how much she
was giving away?
Borg didn’t. As he hurried out of the
stadium and the sport after losing the
1981 US Open final to McEnroe he knew
he had also lost the mantle of number
one. But he hadn’t realised that he was
relinquishing being the first superstar
of tennis.
It was a come-down when Borg later
needed to bolster failing finances by
endorsing underpants and an embarrassment when he blindly attempted a comeback
with a wooden racket.
Hingis didn’t realise how much she would
JUSTINE HENIN
miss the tour either. Though she retired
with an injured foot, she need not have
stayed away for three years after finding
that horse riding didn’t give her anything
like the same buzz.
The Swiss Miss did retain some of her star
quality, but never regained her former
eminence, and a depressingly unsuccessful
2007 Wimbledon, during which she allegedly
took the cocaine which brought her a ban,
ended her career for a second time.
No-one endured what Henin did – her
mother’s early death, a sister’s premature
death, a seven-year estrangement from
her family, innuendos about drug-taking,
spats with the Belgian press, marriage
break-up, distracting rapprochements,
and a divorce settlement with husband
Pierre Yves Hardenne which was tagged
by Belgian newspapers as “Win for Life”
(after their national lottery slogan) because
it was reckoned to be so generous to him.
McEnroe was also surprised by the withdrawal symptoms of quitting, even though
it was only for seven months after falling
in love with Tatum O’Neal. Although he
arguably became even more famous after
retiring a second time, he was disappointed
he never regained the pinnacle after so
brief a period away.
As a result her father was not only watching
and applauding her, but announcing that
he was publishing a book called “Justine,
ma fille, ma championne”. He and she
had come full circle, with her emotions
stretched from one extreme to another.
Henin’s body may be exhausted more
than we know. But her mind may recover,
and then there is the risk she may feel
that she had been so close, but not close
enough, to being an all-time great. Did
she actually achieve that?
So is Henin risking disappointment or
depression? The fame she probably won’t
miss. “This is not the real world,” she
often used to say. “The real world is the
few people who know me.”
Perhaps only the subsequent development
of the game will tell us, especially if the
bash-and-grunt brigade finally triumphs
over the brains and elegance which
Henin, along with Hingis, embodied better
than anyone in modern times.
But there is the lost earning potential –
many millions of dollars even if she were
no longer quite a top flight player. And
there are one or two missing accolades,
notably that of winning all four Slams.
The success of her retirement also
depends on what she now does. Except
for occasional sky-diving, which Henin
has done about twenty-four times - joking
about seeing a terrified media man trying
to accompany her - there will be no more
adrenalin-summoning crises, no more
endorphin-surging triumphs, no more of
those bursts of ecstasy which so many
world class athletes say they would
sacrifice anything to feel.
“It would not have made me a happier
person to retire as Wimbledon champion,”
she claimed. Time will tell. Her place in
the pantheon is less secure without it.
It was lack of physical resources – or perhaps
more accurately, the crazy calendar – which
did most to deny her at SW19. Repeated
exhaustion, the legacy of illness and injury,
did for her.
Happiness will depend upon a different,
slower-burning satisfaction, something
her tennis academy may provide. She
began it not only to give something back
to the game, but to ensure that her very
special relationship with her coach Carlos
Rodriguez would last a lifetime.
Henin was just too tired to survive a grass
court fortnight so soon after the French
Open, as her fading performance in the
2006 final against Amelie Mauresmo and
her stunning loss to Marion Bartoli in last
year’s semi-finals revealed.
Winning Wimbledon would probably have
required her to miss the French Open. But
to be on the sidelines while everyone else
played at her beloved Roland Garros was
something, she said, she could not bear
to do.
was there to watch her win. It had been
a spectacularly coincidental reunion,
triggered by her brother David’s car
accident, and taking place in the same
Liege hospital where her mother died,
and which Henin invested with an almost
mystical significance.
It was Rodriguez and his children who
helped save her in the darkest hours, of
which there were many. It may be he who
helps cushion her against the loss of that
career.
Henin claimed she felt her career had
finished in 2007, when she triumphed in
a superb year-ending three-setter against
Maria Sharapova at the WTA ChampionHenin was even exhausted when she
ships in Madrid. She only continued in
retired, as the timing of its announcement,
May 14, just before her favourite tournament, 2008, she claims, to confirm those feelings
indicated. She had suffered in previous
were permanent.
months from a wrist injury, a shoulder
What she was really experiencing was
injury, and asthmatic bronchitis; she had
won only two games from Serena Williams the end of her family ordeal. The principal
in Miami, lost to Dinara Safina in Berlin, and reasons for the estrangement had,
pulled out of Rome with some desperate- allegedly, been the family’s initial inability
to accept tennis as her career, and the
sounding words.
later refusal to accept husband Pierre“I have a little less fire,” she said. “I don’t
Yves Hardenne.
know if my motivation is broken, but I lack
The protagonist, again allegedly, was her
resources.” Some of it was emotional
father Jose, but now, for the first time, he
exhaustion.
But it may one day be her own children.
“She believes she will have a much bigger
chance of meeting a good man and then
having children in the future if she is not
playing tennis any more,” said Jose Henin.
“It might be possible to see her come
back one day, just a chance..... Justine is
already playing again [recreationally], so
who knows?”
But for her sake, one hopes she doesn’t
want to. Retirement can be a mistake, but
returning can be a bigger one.
by Richard Eaton
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CONFIRMED PLAYERS FOR 2008 INCLUDE: SAMPRAS • MCENROE • IVANISEVIC • EDBERG • BAHRAMI
SAMPRAS TO MAKE DEBUT
AT THE
2-7 DECEMBER 2008
ROYAL ALBERT HALL
CALL THE BOX OFFICE ON 020 8233 5886
BOOK ONLINE AT WWW.THEBLACKROCKMASTERS.COM
Make sure you are there to watch some of the greatest players of all time compete
to become the Champion of Champions in an awe-inspiring and iconic venue
BLACKROCK MASTERS TENNIS
BlackRock
Masters Tennis
The hugely popular BlackRock Masters Tennis tournament, now in
its twelfth year, will once again be staged at the iconic venue of the
Royal Albert Hall in London, England from the 2nd to 7th December.
The event draws over 30,000 spectators,
making it the most popular indoor tennis
event in the UK. This year sees former
World No.1 and 14-times Grand Slam
Champion, Pete Sampras, making his debut
and returning to London for the first time
since his last appearance at Wimbledon in
2002. The chance to return and play at the
Royal Albert Hall is something he couldn’t
resist, particularly after sampling the
venue for the first time almost 20 years
ago in the World Championship Doubles.
“I remember it being a great arena,” he
said. “You could hear the glasses during
the points with all the people drinking
champagne, and everyone in their tuxedos.
They really live it up there, so I’m looking
forward to it. I haven’t been back to London
since my last Wimbledon, which was a bit
of a nightmare. I hear a lot of good things
about the event and the stadium and the
exposure it brings. So I’m excited and
pretty pumped up about it. I hear the
people there really support it and so I’m
excited to go back and play a little tennis
for them.”
He will be joined by Stefan Edberg, who
will play competitive tennis for the first
time in twelve years after signing up to
play on the BlackRock Tour of Champions
in 2008. Edberg, who won six Grand Slam
titles, including two Wimbledon crowns,
had previously declined invitations to
compete against his old rivals.
Tournament Chairman Peter Worth said:
“We have been trying to persuade Stefan
to join the Champions Tour for years he has a huge following and I am sure
everyone will be delighted to see him.”
The stellar line-up for the event also includes
John McEnroe and Goran Ivanisevic, who
are currently confirmed to compete in
the singles.
The tournament offers the perfect
combination of drama, tension and skill
with competitive singles and entertaining
doubles matches taking place in each
session. The doubles event features
crowd favourites Mansour Bahrami and
Henri Leconte, together with a host
of other legends including Pat Cash,
Cedric Pioline and Peter McNamara.
To book tickets call the Box Office
on 020 8233 5882 or visit
www.theblackrockmasters.com
FIRST STRIKE TENNIS
Grass court tennis is now a completely different game from the
traditional serve and volley style of the past. There have been many
contributing factors: slower courts, different styles of player, juniors
learning from a much younger age, and racket technology have all
contributed to the decline in traditional fast court skills. So how is
the game played today?
FIRSTSTRIKE
by Clive Carrigan
UK Director, Professional Tennis Registry
The answer is a different tactical approach. dominate. With his positive attitude and
The serve is still a critical factor for setting considerable size he is a match for anyone
up the play, but more often it is followed
with this style of play.
up by an aggressive driven ground stroke.
So how do we play this style?
Players are using the heavy first serve to
Certain factors can dictate. The ability to
pressure the returner into giving them a
ball that they can attack from the ground. take the ball early is a big plus and hitting
This ‘first strike’ tactic is key to present day the ball on the rise to the opposite side
success on the grass courts of Wimbledon. of the court takes time away from your
It was not long ago that people were saying opponent. Look for anything short enough
to move up the court. Try to stay down a
the grass court game was boring as the
serve was so dominant and there were no little lower than usual to compensate for
the lower bounce, and hit a slightly flatter
rallies. However, returns have got better,
trajectory. Depending how far up the court
making volleys more difficult and so the
you are, you may have to reduce your
game has naturally evolved into more
takeback a little, but above all commit
forceful ground strokes.
fully to the shot! You cannot play this
The courts are still fast by comparison to
way half heartedly.
other surfaces that professionals play on,
so a big serve can still pay dividends. The Several tactical opportunities exist when
nature of the surface allows the ball to go serving. Wide serve and opposite strike,
through the court quicker, making returns wide serve and short angle, or bodyline
serve and behind the player. It is important
a different problem completely. Players
will look to hit a penetrating serve and get to mix up tactics so your opponent does not
read your intentions every time. Remember
a return they can take early and strike
to always cover for another return.
purposefully to put the opponent under
pressure two balls in a row. This tactic,
The first strike tactic can also be employed
executed successfully, will leave a player
when receiving. Obviously the server has
in charge of the rally and dominating
the initial tactical advantage, but if the
the point.
serve is loose in direction the initiative
Top exponents of this type of play on a
grass court include Novak Djokovic, Roger
Federer, Andy Murray, Robin Soderling,
Marcos Baghdatis and Radek Stepanek.
All look to dominate the point from behind
their serve with aggressive strikes.
Djokovic in particular has an ideal game
for this style of play. His serve is big enough
and his ground strokes heavy enough to
really push his opponent around and
can easily swing the other way. A good
aggressive return, under control, can give
the returner the opportunity to strike the
first blow and dictate the rally.
Great returners are exponents of this
counter-punching style. Lleyton Hewitt,
Jonas Bjorkman and Andy Murray are
first class examples. All have had good
results on grass against big servers with
successful implementation of this tactic.
Watch how they attempt to step up the
court slightly if they feel they have hit a
good return and may get a short ball to
work on as a result. So if your return is
good, recognise it early and step up the
court, then commit wholeheartedly to
the second strike.
This tactic works particularly well on grass
and other faster surfaces. This is due to the
ball accelerating off the quicker surface
and the lower trajectory of the flight which
rewards flatter shots. In turn this enables
players to be more aggressive from deeper
in the court.
When applying it to your own game you
need to know how far back you are
comfortable attacking from. Remember the better the player, the deeper a short
ball is! Start from somewhere about two
metres behind the service line and judge
how successful you are from there. If it
works, expand it to deeper in the court.
The ‘first strike’ tactic is key to success
on the grass courts of Wimbledon.
FIRST STRIKE TENNIS
The serve is still a critical
“factor
for setting up the play,
but more often it is followed
up by an aggressive driven
ground stroke.
”
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Professional Tennis Registry
‘The International Coaching Qualification’
Courses available throughout the year, and around the country.
Contact 07000-877878 [email protected] www.PTRuk.com
WORLD RANKINGS
WORLDRANKINGS
MEN
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
WOMEN
ROGER
FEDERER
Switzerland
Born: 08.08.1981
Lives: Oberwil, Switzerland
Height: 6ft 1in
Weight: 194 lbs
Career titles: 55
Career-high ranking: 1
RAFAEL
NADAL
Spain
Born: 03.06.1986
Lives: Manacor, Mallorca
Height: 6ft 1in
Weight: 188 lbs
Career titles: 29
NOVAK
DJOKOVIC
Serbia
Born: 22.05.1987
Lives: Monte Carlo, Monaco
Height: 6ft 2in
Weight: 176 lbs
Career titles: 10
DAVID
FERRER
Spain
Born: 02.04.1982
Lives: Valencia, Spain
Height: 5ft 9in
Weight: 160 lbs
Career titles: 7
NIKOLAY
DAVYDENKO
Russia
Born: 02.06.1981
Lives: Volgograd, Russia
Height: 5ft 10in
Weight: 154 lbs
Career titles: 14
ANDY
RODDICK
USA
Born: 30.08.1982
Lives: Austin, Texas, USA
Height: 6ft 2in
Weight: 195 lbs
Career titles: 25
DAVID
NALBANDIAN
Argentina
Born: 01.01.1982
Lives: Cordoba, Argentina
Height: 5ft 11in
Weight: 175 lbs
Career titles: 8
JAMES
BLAKE
USA
Born: 28.12.1979
Lives: Tampa, Florida, USA
Height: 6ft 1in
Weight: 183 lbs
Career titles: 10
ANDY
MURRAY
Scotland
Born: 15.05.1987
Lives: Dunblane, Scotland
Height: 6ft 3in
Weight: 175 lbs
Career titles: 5
STANISLAS
WAWRINKA
Switzerland
Born: 28.03.1985
Lives: St.Barthelemy,
Switzerland
Height: 6ft Weight: 174 lbs
Career titles: 1
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
ANA
IVANOVIC
Serbia
Born: 06.11.1987
Lives: Basel, Switzerland
Height: 6ft 1in
Weight: 152 lbs
Career titles: 7
JELENA
JANKOVIC
Serbia
Born: 28.02.1985
Lives: Belgrade, Serbia
Height: 5ft 9in
Weight: 130 lbs
Career titles: 6
MARIA
SHARAPOVA
Russia
Born: 19.04.1987
Lives: Florida, USA
Height: 6ft 2in
Weight: 130 lbs
Career titles: 19
SVETLANA
KUZNETSOVA
Russia
Born: 27.06.1985
Height: 5ft 8in
Weight: 161 lbs
Career titles: 9
SERENA
WILLIAMS
USA
Born: 26.09.1981
Lives: Florida, USA
Height: 5ft 9in
Weight: 150 lbs
Career titles: 31
ELENA
DEMENTIEVA
Russia
Born: 15.10.1981
Height: 5ft 11in
Weight: 141 lbs
Career titles: 9
VENUS
WILLIAMS
USA
Born: 17.06.1980
Lives: Florida, USA
Height: 6ft 1in
Weight: 160 lbs
Career titles: 37
ANNA
CHAKVETADZE
Russia
Born: 05.03.1987
Lives: Moscow, Russia
Height: 5ft 7in
Weight: 128 lbs
Career titles: 7
DINARA
SAFINA
Russia
Born: 27.04.1986
Height: 5ft 11in
Weight: 154 lbs
Career titles: 6
AGNIESZKA
RADWANSKA
Poland
Born: 06.03.1989
Lives: Krakow, Poland
Height: 5ft 8in
Weight: 123 lbs
Career titles: 4
FROZEN IN TIME
FROZENINTIME
1980WIMBLEDONMEN’SFINAL
You could call it the clash of the headbands. On one side of the net
was the calm, collected Bjorn Borg, his distinctive headband smoothing
back his long blond tresses. On the other was the fiery, foul-mouthed
John McEnroe, his red headband barely keeping his huge curly mop
in check.
by Dominic Bliss
It was also a huge clash of characters.
The Swedish player was cooler than a
Scandinavian winter, while the American
had a temper that boiled over at every
opportunity.
The final (24-year-old Borg’s fifth and
21-year-old McEnroe’s first) started off
dramatically, with the American upstart
romping through the first set 6-1. Borg
settled his nerves and took the next two
sets 7-5, 6-3 before reaching the tiebreak
in the fourth. Then came one of the most
exciting episodes of play that Wimbledon
has ever seen. All these years later it still
holds spectators enthralled when it’s
endlessly rerun during rain delays.
The gripping sequence spanned thirty-four
points and lasted a total of twenty-two
minutes and fifteen seconds. It was a bitter
dogfight featuring smashes, dropshots,
lobs and diving volleys. There were long
rallies, short rallies, even rallies at the net.
Both players crashed to the ground at
least once.
Finally, after McEnroe had played seven
set points and Borg five championship
points, the American won 18-16 to level
the match at two sets all.
In the deciding set the more experienced
Swede then triumphed 8-6, to win his fifth
and final Wimbledon.
Today McEnroe still looks back on that final
as “the greatest match I’ve ever played –
and lost”.
nVision
WAS £140 .00
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60
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NOW
HYPER
HAMMER 6.3
WAS £140 .00
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50
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[K] SIX ONE
TOUR
Used by Roger Federer
WAS £170 .00
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138
19% DISCOUNT
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[K] SIX ONE
TEAM
WAS £150 .00
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121
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[K] BLADE TOUR
Used by Novak Djokovic
WAS £170 .00
.50
£
163
4% DISCOUNT
NOW
US OPEN
4 BALL
PRO STAFF 1000
MEN’S
INTRIGUE DST OMNI
WOMEN’S
WAS £7.50
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WILSON TOUR
(DAVIS CUP)
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5
41% DISCOUNT
NOW
ION
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Text ASICS plus your postcode to 84070 for nearest stockist.

Tennis Magazine - August 2008

Transcription

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