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My raining heart
2007-07-04 06:50:00
Hello everyone, come on in - just make sure to take off your shoes because they're probably wet.I know it's been a few days since my last update, but I'm sure you can pinpoint the reason why. The rain at Wimbledon has simply been perilous. Its been trying for the players, suicidal for tournament officials, and simply hell on the fans who have attended. I feel their pain, as the above picture can vouch for. When I attended last year's U.S. Open, I had one day of "OK" weather (the opening was delayed by an hour and a half), but the entire second day that I was planning to take in was washed out. If you think it's annoying when rain delays coverage on TV that you are looking forward to, try being at the actual event. For as much as a live experience can offer you in terms of memories and pleasure, a weather delay when you're there is the exact opposite: gut-wrenching.It's interesting (in a bad way) because not only were the first few days of the 2006 U.S. Open hampered by ...
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Mint condition
2007-06-30 07:09:00
Whenever Roger Federer?s matches are shown on television, I always make every effort to watch them. I?ve been keeping at this for over three years now, so there isn?t too much that I feel I?ve missed in Roger?s tennis repertoire. Of course, I?m not going to claim that I?ve seen absolutely everything, since Federer always seems to come up with something that seems unique only to him. But when speaking of Roger dominating at Wimbledon ? this is old news, right?With the grass court ?season? so short, you rarely get to see the undisputed master of the surface, Federer, in action on the lawn. This was amplified even further this year when Roger opted to skip his traditional stopover in Halle, where he?s dominated just like he?s done at the All England Club. Because of this, the first time I see Federer play on grass, it usually takes me a match to remind myself that perfection on a particular surface exists; its just hidden until June.*Add in the fact that I?ve been watching Federer...
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Next, please
2007-06-29 00:10:00
At Grand Slam events, the first ?marquee? match of the tournament doesn?t usually occur until the third or fourth round. This is primarily because the top 32 players are seeded, which prevents collisions of upper echelon players from happening until later in the opening week. Back in January, this maxim rang true once again at the Australian Open, when Marat Safin was pitted against Andy Roddick in round three.I recall awaking at 3 a.m. for the match, after much discussion about the contest in tennis circles online. Both Safin and Roddick had considerable success at Melbourne, and rather justifiably, this duel of big-swingers was the first highly touted match of the tournament. I broke this down piece-by-piece at the time, but at the moment, I?m actually having a hard time remembering critical moments of this match. I?m not exactly sure why, because if you look at the numbers, this was a fairly competitive match. Battling for 192 minutes, Safin pushed Roddick to the five set l...
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The technical side of Wimbledon
2007-06-27 14:32:00
Along with the fans on Henman Hill (above), I was a bit distanced from the riveting Tim Henman/Carlos Moya conclusion yesterday - but in a far different sense of the word. Because the match was extended onto Tuesday, I had to resign myself to catching the replay later on in the day, long after I had checked the live scores online during my daily travails. After I saw that Henman pulled out another classic on the grass, I immediately purchased the $4.99 daily pass from Wimbledon 's website, so I could watch it in full and keep the match on my computer. However, there's not going to be any complimentary link or free plug this time from [G/R], because I still haven't seen a second of the highlights that I've paid for - simply put, they haven't worked. "Technic al issues", claimed the live chat representative that I spoke to in the evening.Because of this problem, I've only nibbled on the bare bones highlights provided by ESPN. Regardless, it was impressive Tim, especially from the ...
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Tim and time
2007-06-26 01:11:00
When I posted the poll for the most intriguing first round match at Wimbledon (from the nine I selected), I cast a vote of my own just to ensure that it actually worked. It did - and because of the success, I may as well plug the service, which you can use for free at http://www.pollcode.com/. My vote was for the Tim Henman/Carlos Moya match, for a few reasons:- This could very well be one of Henman's last Wimbledon appearances, and even though the lustre of the man who has a hill named after him seems to have dulled in the last few years, no one - not even Andy Murray - gets the British faithful up from their seats like Henman does.- Speaking of Andy Murray, the Scot's last minute withdrawal from Wimbledon took much o the national focus away from the youngster, and subsequently transferred it to Henman's cause. There's no doubt that Murray will still be a hot topic of discussion, Wimbledon appearance or not, but there are more British eyes on Henman now.- The serve and volley i...
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Keep it in the short grass
2007-06-23 02:46:00
I haven?t had television access to the grass court tournaments at Nottingham or s?-Hertogenbosch this week, and it?s probably a good thing, being the Richard Gasquet fan that I am. Going for his third consecutive title in Nottingham ? a spark that Richard could surely use after his play of late ? the top-seeded Gasquet fell to countryman Arnaud Clement in the quarterfinals by a 6-4, 6-0 score. I?m unsure if an injury was in play here, but ordering a bagel is best served for a deli in Long Island, not at a tournament that you?ve won two years running. But in all seriousness, all credit to Clement this week, and for his entire grass court ?season? so far ? after two weeks, he?s amassed an astounding 8-1 record. ?Ar-no? will look to make it nine out of ten against hard-serving Ivo Karlovic in the final, whom he defeated last week in Queen?s Club. The 6? 10? Croat has used his potent serve this week (to the tune of 80 aces) to bore through Juan Martin del Potro, Dmitry Tursunov, and oth...
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One of the matches of the year
2007-06-17 19:15:00
After watching clay court matches for the past few months, one thing that I forgot about tennis on grass is how quickly the points, games, and sets can end. Instead of rallies that seemingly never allow a player to be out of the point if they have the requisite speed and footwork (which 99% of the ATP Tour possesses), the lawn speeds up the shots so much that oftentimes players just have to say ?too good?. It?s no surprise then that the serve-and-volley tactic is so effective on grass, as it condenses the point into an even quicker sequence of shots. Long forlorn since the heydays of Pete Sampras and Tim Henman, serve-and-volley players are now a dying breed. But Nicolas Mahut?s performance this week gave us reason to think that the net-rushing strategy should be employed much more often, especially on quick courts like the ones at Queen?s Club. Aided by his play in doubles (Mahut also reached the semifinals in that bracket, alongside Julien Benneteau), Mahut?s volleys were cri...
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The match that never was
2007-06-16 02:23:00
In nearly every tennis tournament, the potential match-up between the top two seeds at opposing sides of the bracket is what fans often hope will come to fruition. At the Artois Championships, the possibility of seeing Rafael Nadal face Andy Roddick in the final on Sunday was likely mouth watering to most, including this author. There would be much to look forward to in this contest between the two most recent runners-up at Wimbledon ? vastly differing styles of play being the first thing that comes to mind. Still, even this deep contrast of tennis would feature exceptionally hard ball striking from both players, which would only be amplified by the mowed lawns of Queen?s Club. There?s also one more element to this match that would interest me ? how would each of these competitors look following the French Open? For Nadal, fatigue might be in question. For Roddick, it would be idleness.But, this tussle of top-tenners is actually not the match that I?m referring to in my title....
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A few blades of grass
2007-06-15 03:58:00
Hey folks ?Just like Roger Federer, I needed a little bit of a breather after two intense weeks of tennis at Roland Garros. Thankfully, there hasn?t been too much to speak of on the circuit, unless of course you?re a fan of Richard Gasquet. Oh, wait?Richard, a very serviceable grass player in his own right (he is the two-time defending champion of Nottingham) was defeated in the first round of the Gerry Weber Open by Aisam-Ul-Haq Qureshi. Don?t feel bad if you needed to look up his playing resume ? I did so immediately upon hearing of this upset. Qureshi is a 27-year old from Pakistan, whose last ATP Tour level tournament was last year in ?s-Hertogenbosch, which is coincidentally a grass court event as well. Qureshi lost to Mario Ancic in that tournament, but made the most of his opportunity this year, ousting the fifth-seeded Gasquet 7-6, 6-4. Philipp Kohlschreiber ended the one-match winning streak in the very next round, but it?s still a very interesting tale for follow for...
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"The number one ranking for Nadal seems to be an inevitability.?
2007-06-11 04:59:00
For those of you who are reading this before 10 a.m. EST (about twelve hours from now), I?m going to give you an exclusive preview of a passage that will be on tomorrow morning?s ?Monday Net Post? at www.tennis.com. Each week in my ?McGrogan?s Heroes? section, I mention my shining star of the week on the both the men?s and women?s tours. The obvious choice for this past week is of course the now three-time Roland Garros champion Rafael Nadal ; here is what I had to say about him:?Rafael Nadal was cool and collected throughout the French Open final against Roger Federer, even during the second set that went to the Swiss. The slight case of nerves that reared itself when serving for the first set in his semifinal match against Novak Djokovic (on two occasions) never made their way to Court Philippe Chatrier on Sunday, as Nadal was in top form throughout the duration. In spite of his loss at Hamburg to Federer and the months of preparation leading up to this match by the world numbe...
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55/45
2007-06-09 18:25:00
I hope you?ll excuse me for omitting my commentary on the Rafael Nadal/Novak Djokovic match until today. What ended up happening was that the Russian feed which broadcast the Federer/Davydenko match didn?t continue onto the other semifinal, so I was left in the dark. Eventually, I discovered a Chinese feed that hosted the match, but the audio and video quality was extremely poor. Because of this, I decided to defer watching the match until it was shown on tape delay many hours later on the Tennis Channel. Besides, I needed to treat myself to a ?quality? broadcast of the match, after sitting through the first semifinal in all its grainy goodness.As for the match itself, it was a fun one to watch. The first two sets featured some of the best overall tennis that I?ve seen this week ? both Nadal and Djokovic struck the ball hard, never gave up on a rally, and kept the crowd into the battle the entire time. Nadal?s service woes in the first set were very puzzling (be dropped serve ...

Straight sets; but that doesn't mean it was easy
2007-06-08 17:09:00
Even though this match finished in three sets, this was as tight a match as I have witnessed in tennis. The final score read 7-5, 7-6, 7-6 to Federer, who has now reached his eighth straight Grand Slam final; simply an amazing achievement. It will now be up to Rafael Nadal to see if the dream scenario can unfold on Sunday.The third set looked bleak for Roger ? he was down 4-1 early after Davydenko had jumped all over him with some early prowess. But Roger never seemed to get tight during the match; he instead exhibited a comfortable confidence that showed in his tennis. He held serve when he needed to, and most importantly, played the pressure points like a true champion.Nowhere was this more evident that in the ninth game of the third set. Federer, down 5-3, was again seeing the set on Davydenko?s racquet, as had occurred in set two. Once again, Davydenko faltered on his serve and the game headed to deuce ? and then a second deuce; then a third; then a fourth?In the first sev...
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Snipers on and off the court
2007-06-08 15:09:00
In the second set, Roger Federer and Nikolay Davydenko came out guns blazing, hitting some fine shots throughout the opening collection of games. Break points were scarce until the Russian broke Federer at 4-4, and had the set on his racquet. Long maligned for being unable to come through in the most critical of moments, Davydenko then dropped serve, and instead of winning the second set 6-4, he was back in a battle at 5-5. Federer nearly made it three service breaks in a row the next game, but he held, and after one more Daydenko hold of his own, we were headed to a tiebreak. Tiebreaks undeniably come down to who flinches first - the limited number of points played requires almost no room for error. Fittingly, the one point that was surrendered on serve (the "mini-break") turned out to be the determining factor of the set. Again, it was Davydenko who opened the door for Federer, and after failing to convert on two set points when Nikolay was serving, the Swiss made quick work ...
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From Russia with love
2007-06-08 14:27:00
Well, there is a God ? and he?s Russia n. I?m not talking about Nikolay Davydenko, but instead, the fine webmasters at www.livetv.ru, who have provided access to a number of live streams of the men?s semifinals at Roland Garros. For those of you in my predicament (see my last post for the explanation), go to this English language page - http://livetv.ru/en/eventinfo/2811/ - and you will be able to tap into a feed from Russian television. You?ll need a SopCast player, which you can download from their website, and you should be good to go. The quality is definitely serviceable, and most importantly, Americans can now actually watch the match live.The first set just concluded, with Federer taking it 7-5. It started off precariously for Roger, down a break early, and it looked to be slipping away completely when he was down 0-40 when serving at 2-4. However, his serve, which has been exceptional ever since I started tuning in, bailed him out, and he eventually held in a tight game....
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I'm not even dignifying this with a photograph
2007-06-08 04:59:00
To my readers outside of the United States, I apologize to you for this post. This entry is not about the two fantastic men?s semifinal matches, as I had originally intended, but instead, I?m going to talk about the state of American tennis. But before you click elsewhere, I won?t be boring you with opinions on the inept state of Americans on clay, or lamenting the Grand Slam titles that have been missing ever since Pete Sampras and Andre Agassi hung up their racquets. Instead, I?m talking about American tennis television coverage.When I created this website 18 months ago, I had to think of two things before I even started typing my first entry. The first was the name of the website, which after a number of brainstorming sessions, became Gasquet & Racquet. But secondly was the motto. Hopefully you notice this each time you come and visit, but if you?ve never read it before, here is what I chose for [G/R]:"A haven for discussion of men?s tennis, one of the few sports that may act...
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Drawn and quartered in the QFs
2007-06-07 06:09:00
So, how about those quarterfinals?On Monday, I predicted that only one of the four quarterfinal matches would reach even four sets ? and I was right, aside from picking the wrong match where it occurred. I had a suspicion that this quartet of matches wouldn?t exactly be ESPN Classic material, and not just because of the seedings/ranking disparity. Instead, there were two themes that seemed to contribute to the lopsided result ? either one player wasn?t able to rise up to the occasion, or one player?s game was strictly inferior to his opponent?s.In the Djokovic/Andreev and Federer/Robredo matches, the ?rising up? theme is the most important to consider. Federer has long established himself as someone who can handle the pressure situations, and Djokovic has started to do so on a more consistent basis this year (reaching two consecutive Masters Series finals in the spring). Clearly, these two had the edge in big game experience over their adversaries.For Novak, he got to face Igor ...
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They all want it, but how badly?
2007-06-05 02:05:00
Today was an important day for Gasquet & Racquet, as I have confirmed that I will be watching the semifinals in full, without unnecessary interruption ? i.e., I will not be going to work on Friday. Unfortunately, I can?t say the same about the quarterfinals, which take place during the next two days. Because of that, I won?t be able to update live (which I will be doing on Friday ? so please tune in), so now seems about the right time for some picks for these four matches.I?ve shied away from making picks on a large scale ? meaning at least eight matches or more ? for some time now. I used to enjoy the handicapping aspect of it, and seeing how I stacked up when the results came in, but I now largely think of those forecasts as blind luck and tiresome. However, with only eight players remaining in the draw, I?ve gotten a chance to see their terre battue games for some time. Having said that, here are four reasons you should be staying indoors to watch tennis if you don?t have to...

France's fallen
2007-06-02 17:44:00
The fourth round is just about set in Paris, and while there have been some notable upsets, the major players in this show are largely still in contention. I?m not just talking about Federer, Nadal, Davydenko, and Djokovic, all of whom are still alive at the moment ? I?m also referring to some of the players who I mentioned in my post titled ?The real day one?, each of whom looked very collected in their opening round match. This list would include Lleyton Hewitt (who plays Jarkko Nieminen today), Marcos Baghdatis (who is in the fourth round), and Guillermo Canas (also in round four).There?s one major omission though ? Richard Gasquet. After falling in the second round to Kristof Vliegen in straight sets, I can?t help but feel very let down by Gasquet, who not only looked flawless in his opening round match, but has performed much better on tour of late. Obviously, this lamentation woefully pales in comparison to the ever-compounding pressure from the millions of French tennis f...
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Three years ago
2007-06-01 06:20:00
Almost three years ago to the day, I was in Paris at the tail end of a three week study-abroad trip. The majority of our European stay was spent in various locales in the United Kingdom (with Exeter as our home base), so when we had some free time during our final days overseas, myself and two others in our group boarded the Eurostar to cross the English Channel and enter France.Although my sojourn in the French metropolis was a relatively short one (four days), and was during the end of my journey (when I was really worn out), I remember much about the city. The monuments, museums, and streets of Paris are one-of-a-kind, and are scrapbook keepsakes of mine. We stayed in the Parisian district of Monmartre, which had three lasting memories ? the Sacré-C?ur Basilica, a constant presence of art (which Monmartre is known for), and a rickety hostel that we inhabited for three nights.I also remember the many adventures ? mostly ones we didn?t expect ? that my two traveling companions a...
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The real day one
2007-05-30 05:04:00
I didn?t plan things this way, and certainly, neither did the French Open tournament directors.After two days of deluge, only a paltry seven men?s matches were completed heading into day three of Roland Garros. For me, this meant that during my two days off (which I planned to watch plenty of tennis), I only got to see the first set and a few games of Roger Federer?s match with Michael Russell. Besides that, I saw no other points of men?s action ? and as a consolation prize, I got to watch the Serena Williams match three times, and the Justine Henin replay twice. Oh joy.For the tournament itself, I truly empathized with the fans who attended the first two days of action, especially after having a day of tennis postponed at last year?s U.S. Open. It was really unfortunate for the spectators involved, and is one of the unique elements of the sport that fans have to deal with.Naturally, the day I had to return to work marked a day where, by my count, 53 men?s matches were played. I got...
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Pluie (still storming)
2007-05-28 02:59:00
Back for another real quick update, but this time, it?s because of what didn?t happen.I had a lovely weekend in a quaint cabin up north, filled with (as previously mentioned) serenity, outdoor sitting, and good food. But with today being the first day of the French Open, I was eagerly looking forward to catching some of the coverage; thankfully, the tape-delayed version would be on ESPN2 later in the day when I got back home.Well, I?m sure you could imagine my amazement when I discovered that the remote vacation grounds that I was staying in had DirecTV ? and in turn, had a free Tennis Channel preview for the upcoming fortnight. Having rarely used satellite before, I also failed to realize at first that not only did this access grant the cabin the regular Tennis Channel network, but also, five separate channels that each focused on different court! It was literally tennis on-demand, which for me, who prefers the men?s game to the women?s, is awesome. For one day, I wouldn?t have to ...
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The calm before the storm
2007-05-25 21:49:00
I?m not sure if I?ve used this title before (I seem to think I have), but regardless, it?s very appropriate for this weekend?s events. The ATP Tour is wrapping up its Poertscach and Dusseldorf events, and it seems that Gael Monfils finally got out of bed after a long snooze. For me, I?ll be traveling up north to ?the real? upstate New York, where in all likelihood, I will be without internet access until my return home on Sunday. It will be a trip that will be defined by serenity, outdoor sitting, and good food. My stay probably won?t feature much tennis, aside from me completing the Vince Spadea biography, ?Break Point?. It?s OK so far; I hope for a payoff in the later chapters. But this escape from the game might not be a bad thing, considering that a two-week binge will commence on Sunday morning.The main news of the day was the French Open draw, which was released this morning. In my opinion, Roger Federer has a rather simple quarter, but some have disagreed. (The page h...
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This is G&R: International Tennis Radio
2007-05-24 06:13:00
After weeks of premier clay court tournaments, the ATP Tour reverts back to smaller events for one week ? the calm before the storm (Roland Garros), if you will. For all you Pörtschach and Düsseldorf supporters out there, you can be rest assured that I?m not slighting these events because of their lesser status than Masters Series tournaments; instead, like Federer and Nadal, I just need a break to recharge for the French Open. In fact, on my maiden ?Monday Net Post? for Peter Bodo?s Tennis World, I wrote a travel guide entry on the Austrian peninsula ? you should check it out. Plus, [G/R] got some great publicity, which I like a lot.Because I?m treating this week as an ?off week? of sorts, I don?t want to get too heavy into the French Open just yet, even though many tennis fans are already chomping at the bit. The draws don?t come out until Friday, however for all you tennis junkies, you can see a related draw; the qualifying rounds. Notable names include Andrei Pavel, Jeremy C...
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One year later
2007-05-20 17:50:00
After Roger Federer lost the first set to Rafael Nadal in a 6-2 lambasting, I was preparing in my mind to write a post that spoke of how different the scene is on the ATP Tour than it was from one year ago. Heading into Roland Garros last year, Federer played two close finals with Nadal, the most memorable of which being the five-set classic in Rome. Roger went into the French Open with the knowledge that he was very, very close to beating Nadal on clay, and if just a few small things went his way, that the result would be in his favour.This year, it?s been a different story for Federer. In Monte Carlo, his effort was rather poor against Nadal, especially when you compare it to the preceding year?s final at the same venue. Then there was the loss to Filippo Volandri in Rome. Now it wasn?t just Nadal that could vex Federer, but anyone could, on any given day ? especially on clay.So I?m watching Roger go down a set to Nadal this morning, in short order, with the broadcast nearly repli...
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One more time
2007-05-19 21:06:00
The final in Hamburg is the one that most people were expecting, but I doubt many of them thought that both Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal would have so much difficulty in advancing past their semifinal opponents.In the first match of the day, Federer dropped the first set to Carlos Moya 6-4. The way Roger was hitting some of his forehands (long) brought back memories of his most recent defeat to Filippo Volandri in Rome. But Federer came back in the second set, thanks to better shot making and serving, but also, thanks to some emotion. This match was one of the few times recently that I?ve seen Roger so animated (most notably in regards to a call in set three), but in doing so, I think it got him more focused on the task at hand ? winning. He needed to remain focused, especially after losing five straight points when serving at 5-3, 40-0. The break of serve was potentially disastrous for Federer, but he immediately returned the favour by breaking Moya in the next game.Roger?s ...
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Moya from Mallorca and more
2007-05-19 00:37:00
As if Lleyton Hewitt?s miniature renaissance in Hamburg wasn?t enough, there?s another one going on simultaneously.All four quarterfinal matches on Friday featured one Spaniard, and it was very intriguing to see how the matches played themselves out. As you may know, the Spanish compatriots often attend one another?s matches in support of their countrymen; on this day, that would require a significant amount of effort, as Spain was represented from dusk till dawn in Germany.The Nadal/Gonzalez match was a mere formality in the eyes of many, especially after Rafa dominated Gonzo in their last encounter on clay, only one week ago in the Rome final. As for the other titan of tennis, I wasn?t terribly worried about David Ferrer upsetting Roger Federer; after all, Roger just waxed a Spaniard that he had a dominant head-to-head record against just the day before in Juan Carlos Ferrero. Coming into today?s match, Federer was 6-0 against Ferrer, and although it took three sets, Roger adva...
More About: Mallorca , More , Mall , Orca , Lorca

It's five o'clock again
2007-05-17 04:40:00
I didn?t expect to post again today, but after seeing how the Juan Carlos Ferrero/Marat Safin match concluded in Hamburg, I just had to.Earlier in the day, I awoke at around 5 a.m. to watch some morning tennis. I then headed to work, but returned at 5 p.m. to find a very surprising sight ? more live tennis! Notorious for rain, Hamburg didn?t disappoint once again, and the only matches that could be completed throughout the day were ones that took place inside Center Court. Not surprisingly, this created a backup, and twelve hours later, the day?s schedule of play still wasn?t complete.Now, you?d think that the scene at the indoor stadium would be much the same, whether it is the morning or at night (it was midnight in Germany when all was said and done). But you would be wrong:- Compared to the morning?s matches that I saw, the night attendance in Hamburg was sparse at best. A panoramic view of the seating showed about 100 brave souls, all encased in blankets and/or heavy outer...
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It's five o'clock somewhere
2007-05-16 15:35:00
When I get up at five in the morning, sometimes I think I'm seeing things.I turned on Tennis Channel's coverage from Hamburg early this morning, and during a changeover between Lleyton Hewitt and Juan Ignacio Chela, it appeared that the broadcast was being visited by some sort of alien spacecraft. The sky was domineered by some obscurely arranged object - maybe it was a zeppelin, which would have been fitting as the tournament is being held in Germany.It turns out that what I was seeing was a retractable roof, constructed for the Center Court due to the frequently inclement weather that has plagued this event in the past. (You can see the outline of it on this photo, but it doesn?t compare to the spectacle that I saw today?you have to believe me.) Relieved, but still amazed at German engineering of this stadium-cover, I kept going along with the Hewitt/Chela match, which was well into the first set.But again, I started seeing things.This time, the thing that I saw actually deal...
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Movin' Up (Nadal's Song)
2007-05-13 20:58:00
They say that first impressions are important.After watching countless hours of tennis over the past few years, I?ve realized that you can tell a lot about how a match is going to progress, just by how the opening games play out. During the first game of today?s Rome final between Fernando Gonzalez and Rafael Nadal , I thought that I might have seen a chink in the armour in the mercurial Spaniard. For one, Nadal looked fatigued, most likely due to his marathon semifinal match yesterday with Nikolay Davydenko. No matter how much Nadal plays, he never seems to be winded during his next match, but I sensed that something was different this time around. Another thing I noticed was that early on, Nadal was committing some errors that were quite uncharacteristic of his game. Usually, Rafa comes out guns blazing, and doesn?t need much time at all in order to ?get into? the match.Because of these observations, I wondered if my earlier prediction of a straight sets Nadal victory was doomed...
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Big shots
2007-05-12 20:09:00
While watching the Rome quarterfinals on Friday, I took two specific things away from the matches on television. These things were not overarching themes, or grandiose observations about how the events unfolded, but rather, they were two different shots that two players employed to their advantage ? so much so that they each won their match directly because of them.The first shot I mention is the slice backhand of Fernando Gonzalez. This set-up shot was on full display during the Australian Open, and was lauded for its ability to lead into Gonzalez?s potent forehand, where he often ends the point. Since the final in Melbourne, Fernando hasn?t been able to rekindle this same winning touch, but that has changed this week in Rome. Against Juan Ignacio Chela, Gonzalez tormented the Argentine with the slice, which effectively negated Chela?s entire arsenal. The points were often long and repetitive, but in the end, the result was usually the same ? Chela eventually giving in and giv...
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