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You're Only Human (Fourth Wind)
2007-05-11 04:01:00
You saw it here first! Filippo Volandri was discussed at [G/R] on Wednesday, not Thursday, after his shock upset of Roger Federer. No one else has this Nostradamus-like coverage on the web!---[G/R]Of course, I didn?t pick Volandri to actually upset Federer in their third round match, but it was pretty eerie how that all unfolded, in my opinion. (Especially if you were a Federer fan, like me ? maybe I shouldn?t do that next time.) Volandri?s Italian counterpart, Potito Starace, didn?t do too badly for himself either. He didn?t win, but he took the first set from Nikolay Davydenko in a very tough match. After defeating Agustin Calleri and former Roland Garros champion Juan Carlos Ferrero, AMS Rome can be considered nothing but a success for Starace.For a nuts and bolts review of the Federer/Volandri match, check out Steve Tignor?s analysis at Tennis.com. I?m going to instead provide a different perspective on today?s events. What I was thinking about after this match was histor...
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Italian state of mind
2007-05-10 05:46:00
Long before tennis became a personal obsession, my exposure to the sport was limited to some friendly hitting on the local court, and, to a video game. Virtua Tennis, a game born in arcades, but brought to many via the Sega Dreamcast, introduced me to various elements of the game that I hadn?t appreciated before. The concepts of spin, power, and slice were shown to me in all their pixelated glory, and I actually learned something from it. The same can be said for the different surfaces that your character played on, and seeing how the ball reacted to it. Don?t laugh ? these basic concepts of the game were foreign to me at the time.Speaking of foreign, Virtua Tennis also introduced me to some professional tennis players that I had only heard of in passing previously. Now, I was aware of who Jim Courier and Tim Henman were, but who was Yevgeny Kafelnikov? Cedric Pioline? These names were oddities to me. It?s funny ? even to this day, I still associate Pioline with this game.In additio...
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Scenes from an Italian tournament
2007-05-09 03:43:00
Hi guys ?Quick update today, for one, because I?ve been very busy, and two, because I once again didn?t have a chance to catch any live tennis from Rome. I?m painfully aware of my DVR-less state. I?m reminded every year, in fact, at around this time. The French Open and Wimbledon are always shown during the prime work hours in the United States, but never have I had to wrestle with missing a large portion of Masters Series events such as Monte Carlo, Rome, and Hamburg. However, expect that existence to change once I move to a new flat in the coming months. In the meantime, I?ll have to continue relying on highlights and box scores, or just take personal days off at work (not out of the question).In the match that I had pegged as a first-rounder to watch, James Blake got the better of Gael Monfils (although, who hasn?t these days?) by a 7-6, 6-3 score. Watching the highlights of this one on Sky Sports, I saw a point that typified Monfils? status on the ATP Tour quite perfectly. ...
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Rome 2007 (I've Seen the Lights Go Out in the Foro)
2007-05-08 01:52:00
The first day of play at the Rome Masters will most likely be remembered in the annals of tennis history not for the play on the court, but for the repeated interruptions that came to define the day. For fans, the extended rain showers prevented some matches from being played, while keeping others in a state of flux throughout the day. This was unfortunate to those in attendance, but for those who had to work (speaking of a rude interruption) during the telecast, which includes this author, the weather actually provided a silver lining. When I returned home from the office-cave at about 5 p.m. (translating to midnight over in Italy), the Robby Ginepri/Danielle Bracciali match was still being shown live.The Italian wild card (Bracciali) had won the first set 7-5, but was down 2-4 when I finally tuned in. I can?t say for sure if rain got in the way of this particular match, or just the preceding ones ? but in any case, the players must have been tired even after one set of play. ...
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Hockey and tennis
2007-05-06 21:11:00
Good day, everyone. I?ve returned from the abyss ? and I don?t mean Buffalo, NY, which is a fine city. I?m referring to the disaster of a Game 5 between the New York Rangers and the Buffalo Sabres that I had to witness.For those of you not keeping up with the National Hockey League playoffs, the second round series between the Sabres and the Rangers was tied at two games a piece going into Friday?s pivotal Game 5. The home team had won every game up to this point; in doing so, the Rangers came into Buffalo with two straight victories. While there was immense pressure on both sides, if you had to designate who had the most pressure on them, it would have to have been the Sabres, who are the Eastern Conference?s number one seed thanks to holding the best regular season record in the NHL. In addition, they were expected to win in front of a raucous home crowd. The HSBC Arena probably could have sold double the amount of ducats that were allocated, as evidenced by the 4,000 plus sp...
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Nadal's winning streak on clay: 72.5 matches
2007-05-03 05:26:00
If American sports fans are talking about tennis, that?s encouraging to hear.If American sports fans are talking about tennis during the European clay court season, that?s pretty impressive.If American tennis fans are talking about tennis this week (when only Estoril and Munich are hosting tournaments), that?s a monumental achievement.But, there is a caveat to this sudden spark of interest, because the topic of discussion isn?t the aforesaid BMW or Estoril Open. Instead, an exhibition match is what fans are focused on ? but who could blame them, considering some of the peculiars?It has been well documented, but on Wednesday, Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal played in ?The Battle of Surfaces?, in which a court was assembled with one side of the net being a clay surface, and the other side grass. Besides this being a rather innovative gimmick, the choice of surfaces was an obvious nod to both players? particular dominance ? currently, Federer has won 48 matches in a row on grass, whil...
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Goliath and the quadruple trifecta
2007-04-29 19:48:00
David (Guillermo Canas) couldn?t slay another giant this time ? Rafael Nadal won earlier today in Barcelona, in rather simple fashion by a 6-3, 6-4 score. Canas did what he could, but Nadal?s constant aggressiveness was too much for the Argentine?s sublime defensive abilities. (Maybe this is something that Roger Federer should have taken a page from when he played Canas.) In addition, despite Guillermo employing some fine offensive tactics of his own, Rafa simply outclassed him in terms of the amount of these types of shots, and the quality of them.It was business as usual for Nadal, but the Spaniard has taken this phrase to an entirely new level. He?s now won Monte Carlo and Barcelona three consecutive years, and he?s the unquestionable favourite to do the same in Rome and at Roland Garros, where he?s also the two-time defending champion. To be the champion of these four separate tournaments, each three years running, would be one of the most impressive accomplishments I?ve ev...
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The giant killer
2007-04-27 21:26:00
After Roger Federer won his seventh consecutive hard court title in Dubai a few months back (OK, his sixth, but Basel's indoor carpet is comparable to a hard court), I posed a lofty question on this site about Roger's affinity for the surface - "Will Federer lose on hard courts this year?"Of course, that question was answered quickly - very quickly in fact - as Guillermo Canas ousted Federer in the Swiss' first match at his next tournament at Indian Wells. In spite of this, I asked that as a serious question, and not just as a "what-if" scenario. Many observers may look back on that as a reach of the tallest order, but at the time, Roger was on auto-pilot on hard courts, with none of the usual contenders even touching him (see the demolitions of Blake at the '06 Tennis Masters Cup and Roddick at the '07 Australian Open for just a few examples).But as one impressive streak concluded, another one is picking up steam - that being Rafael Nadal's clay court winning streak. Now at...
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Sunlighting and moonlighting
2007-04-27 05:00:00
Quicker than I had realized, I?ve basically taken on two full time jobs of late. The first is my day job?which I?ll just leave at that. The second is my tennis journalism gig, which extends beyond the world of Gasquet & Racquet (although [G/R] is the most important, and the most time consuming).All of my tennis ventures require research. This can mean any number of things: going to a live match, watching a match on TV, reading online content, etc. Not surprisingly, it can be rather time consuming, so I conscientiously have to plan my days around tennis. Take last week for example. When Monte Carlo was being shown on The Tennis Channel, even though the live feed was coming through while I was at work, I can assure you that my hours before work (4 a.m. ? 7:30 a.m.) and hours after work (when tape delayed feeds were shown) were planned down to the minute in relation to the tennis on TV. Even when I traveled to New York City to see my beloved New York Rangers in the Stanley Cup p...
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Picking up right where he left off
2007-04-25 03:37:00
In this week?s 56 player draw in Barcelona, there was not only ample room for eight byes in the large bracket, which gave the top eight seeds free passes to the second round, but there was also room for five wild cards as well. Not surprisingly, these admittances were given to Spanish players, since representatives from the host country would likely increase fan interest. What was surprising was one of the names that I saw amongst these lucky participants. It was Felix Mantilla. I knew his name from somewhere, but I couldn?t quite remember how. Curious, I did some research on him in an effort to jostle my memory.Born in 1974, Mantilla is a 32 year old veteran on tour, although he hasn?t competed since the 2005 U.S. Open. Shoulder injuries were one reason for the layoff, but more notably, Mantilla was diagnosed with skin cancer in 2006. He has since recovered, and is playing this week in the Open Seat tournament for the first time since these setbacks. Adding to the special m...
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Still a long ways to go
2007-04-22 17:49:00
Roger Federer can change many things. He can effortlessly change the flight of the ball with his precise racquet skills. He can change the tone of a match with his sublime abilities on court. He can even change the way an opponent is forced to play his game, due to the unrelenting pressure he applies.The problem for Federer is, one person is immune to this force, and it?s Rafael Nadal.What?s interesting is that both players contribute to this anomaly ? it?s not just Nadal?s birthright on clay that?s giving him the edge amongst the two. The disparity between Nadal and Federer on clay isn?t so much a mental chasm, which many have suggested. Instead, I believe that the games of each player, both well defined over the past few years, shift the balance of power over to the Spaniard.Nadal?s game on clay is hyper-aggressive. On an inherently slow surface, where points are often thought to be won with patience and persistence, Rafa?s attack-first (and always) approach is what wins him a lot...
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Is it his time?
2007-04-21 20:27:00
If your cup of tea is tennis that mimics a chess match, where one break of serve is akin to an unsuspecting knight capturing a bishop, then you may not have enjoyed the majority of Friday?s quarterfinal matches. Don?t get me wrong, the tennis itself was as calculated as ever, much like grandmasters Kasparov and Fischer would strategize and plot many moves in advance. However, the actual score of the matches wasn?t as elegant. Back-and-forth duels were instead replaced by stampedes, like you?d see in checkers with ?kinged? pieces. For example:- Tomas Berdych won his last twelve games in a row to defeat Robin Soderling 5-7, 6-3, 6-0.- Roger Federer won his last nine games in a row to defeat David Ferrer 6-4, 6-0.- Rafael Nadal continued to roll, defeating Philipp Kohlschreiber 6-2, 6-3.The only really close quarterfinal was Richard Gasquet vs. Juan Carlos Ferrero, which went the distance. Ferrero closed out the match in set three when Gasquet finally ran out of gas, falling by a ...
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The calm before two storms (?)
2007-04-20 03:27:00
In Thursday?s round of 16 matches in Monte Carlo, three major happenings took place, with each one altering the future in such a way that only tennis fans could truly appreciate.First, the much anticipated quarterfinal match between Novak Djokovic and Roger Federer will not come to fruition. I should have run a poll on this, in which I would have asked, ?Of the two, who would most likely lose in their match ? Novak or Roger?? The results would have been of great curiosity to me, because even though Djokovic was playing a far tougher opponent in David Ferrer, I bet that some observers would still say that due to Federer?s recent struggles, Roger was more prone to the upset. Again, this question would have forced you to pick one, and with Djokovic becoming the master of the Masters Series so far in 2007, I bet the Serbian would have gotten some respect, which he?s certainly earned.But that?s all in the past (well, it never happened), and the match in the future turned out to be jus...
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Seven
2007-04-19 02:28:00
Hello everyone ?I just got back from a two day getaway to New York City, and I?ve returned a wealthier man. Not literally of course, as it?s not cheap to travel to, eat, or shop in the Big Apple, but other areas, I made significant gains.My primary reason for the trip was to see the New York Rangers of the National Hockey League. Hockey is my other sport of choice in addition to tennis, and the Rangers are my favourite team in any sport. Being that the Rangers are still playing in mid-April, knowledgeable fans should know that means it?s playoff time. But New York?s historic hockey franchise ran into a string of poor play in recent year, and the Rangers hadn?t made the NHL playoffs since the 1996-97 season. Mind you, sixteen teams made the postseason each year. Recently though, fortunes have turned around, and they have made the playoffs each of the past two years.As a devoted fan, I quickly snapped up playoff tickets for last year?s first round series against the hated New Jersey D...
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Offense to defense
2007-04-17 02:56:00
Before I start, I?d like to clarify one point that I made at the end of my previous post, in regards to the withdrawals of Andy Roddick and James Blake from Monte Carlo. I?m not a huge fan of either player, but my words were not at all meant to be an attack on these two just because of this fact. I?ve always contended that chiefly, I am a supporter of tennis first ? much more so than I am a supporter of particular players. I steadfastly want to see the best players that the game has to offer on the biggest stages in the world, which is why the Masters Series has so much appeal as a whole. When two of the top ten players decide to withdraw from an event which has such significant appeal in the tennis world ? from the perspectives of fans, players, and the media, I feel slighted. This goes for all players ? not just Roddick and Blake. When Federer or Nadal, two of my favourite pros, choose to skip AMS Paris, I?m also not happy as a fan of the game. However, this current example ...
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Houston, we have a problem
2007-04-16 03:14:00
No one would confuse the Houston semifinal between Mariano Zabaleta and James Blake for an instant classic, or even an exhibition about how tennis should be played. But that doesn?t mean it wasn?t a rather entertaining affair to watch, especially for the masochistic tennis fan.Sometimes seeing the professionals peril at their craft makes for an odd wrinkle that?s different from what you normally see on tour. If I had to compare Thursday?s windy affair to another episode of sport in which the struggle was just as memorable as the result, I?d compare this match to the 2002 U.S. Open of golf. At the Bethpage Black Course that year, Tiger Woods was the only golfer to break par during the four day event, which is remembered primarily for the incredible degree of difficulty that players contended with.The match wasn?t completely dictated by the wind, though you?d never know that if you glanced at the many solemn looking fans, encased in blankets and fleece. Nerves played just as big a...
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Spain's forgotten player
2007-04-13 23:43:00
After some laborious weekdays, the weekend has finally arrived ? and not a moment too soon. At long last, televised tennis will resume in the United States with coverage of the weekend?s action in Houston. Yes, I know ? it?s no Valencia, it?s no European clay court, and it?s?not even red clay. But I?m still looking forward to the action, because I?ll be guaranteed to see the winner of an intriguing quarterfinal match between James Blake and Juan Monaco. At first glance, this would appear to be your standard, run of the mill match. But there?s more to this than meets the eye.We?re playing in America, so this match is all James, right? But we?re playing on clay, so it?s all Monaco, right? Well, I?m not sure what the right answer is. Clay is unquestionably Blake?s least preferred surface of choice, while Monaco has already won once on clay this year. Clearly, the surface will have a large part in determining the winner, but I think the crowd can really help James overcome the ...
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Withdrawals
2007-04-11 04:50:00
No matter what I write about for [G/R], my aim is to let you know my point of view about tennis based on what I take in from televised matches. The most effective fuel for this is the matches that I watch, no matter if the post is a review, opinion, or even satire. Needless to say, I soak in all of the tennis I can, whenever it is shown online or on television.The month of March provided premium fuel in the form of Masters Series tennis at Indian Wells and Miami. For four consecutive weeks, I saw live tennis nearly every day. But since then, it?s been a tough week and a half. Last week?s Davis Cup matches were only on the weekend, and even then, I only got coverage from one tie (U.S./Spain). And since the soup of the day was dead rubbers in the world of Davis Cup tennis, Sunday?s affairs could barely be considered ?true? matches. That meant only two days of authentic ball striking.This week has two clay court events on schedule ? one in Houston, and one in Valencia. Coverage...
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Sweeps week
2007-04-08 07:54:00
For the most part, I feel that men?s tennis has a tremendous amount of parity at the moment. There are some notable exceptions, of course, but handicapping tournaments is quite a challenge because of the incredible competitiveness on the ATP Tour. As such, I expected a number of closely battled contests in this week?s Davis Cup ties. But glancing at the latest scores, it appears that my differentiation of the Davis Cup and the ATP Tour as distinct entities took things to an entirely new level.The United States? victory over Spain, clinched with the Bryan brothers asserting their dominance on the doubles rubber, may have been predictable. Andy Roddick is just as big a horse in Davis Cup as the Bryans are, and with no Rafael Nadal (or David Ferrer), you could have made the case that James Blake might have been able to escape from his funk with the help of some good old American crowd support.Sweden also took the first three rubbers of their tie, against an Argentinean side that I ...
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Ad-way in
2007-04-05 04:17:00
One of the most unique elements of Davis Cup tennis that sets itself apart from the rest of the tournaments on the ATP calendar is the sheer emotion that is felt in every tie. For the most part, tennis is a rather reserved sport that features pockets of exuberance from the crowd and its participants after each point. This is not to say I have anything against this tradition ? in fact, I think it?s one of the best qualities of the sport ? but that?s just the way things are.You could say that Davis Cup follows the same tune, and you?d be right ? the crowd is still mostly silent during the points, and the passion of the players on the court isn?t often released until the action has concluded. However, this is like saying that Harry Chapin (a famous folk singer) and Rammstein (an industrial metal band) are comparable in terms of sonic value. You?d be nuts to make that claim. The point is, the environment of a Davis Cup setting is amplified to the Nth degree when compared to a normal mat...

Progress report (part 2)
2007-04-03 04:29:00
Yesterday?s half of the progress report recognized some great achievements and surprises during the month of March. For these ten individuals, their review isn?t as impressive ? ?Beware the Ides of March,? anyone?Needs ImprovementDavid Nalbandian (C+): The classic underachiever always seems to make matches harder than they should be, and this month was no different. It took a 6-1 first set thumping from Phillip Kohlschreiber to wake up the Argentine in the second round at Indian Wells (IW), before taking out the German in three tough sets. In the next round, he beat Paul-Henri Mathieu, losing only two games in the final two sets of the match, but he then fell to Ivan Ljubicic in the round of 16. In Miami, he was eliminated by Jarkko Nieminen in the third round. Not a horrific couple of weeks, but I?m pretty confident in saying that the 2005 Tennis Masters Cup victory will be the highlight of Nalbandian?s career when all is said and done.Roger Federer (C): There he is?I?m sure some o...
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Progress report (part 1)
2007-04-01 23:55:00
Novak Djokovic?s championship ceremony in Key Biscayne marked the conclusion of a month?s worth of Masters Series events, as well as end of hard court tennis until mid-July. These two prestigious tournaments provided an endless amount of compelling stories and plots for us to discuss, but more importantly, an extremely high level of tennis was on display each week. Regardless if the outcomes of Indian Wells (IW) or Miami were to your liking, this March was a real treat to dedicated ATP Tour fans. As we turn the calendar to April, with the clay court season on the horizon, it seems fitting to take stock of the performances shown in California and Florida.I feel that the most appropriate way to do this is by assigning a grade to players, which takes into account their results during the past two events. As always, these are subject to debate, so I welcome other opinions and encourage you to comment below.(And for Canas or Djokovic fans ? don?t feel slighted because this post is meant ...
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Rhetorical questions
2007-03-30 04:52:00
While watching the Guillermo Canas/Tommy Robredo match at home today, I was chatting with my roommates and we somehow stumbled upon the age-old question: If a tree falls in the forest and no one is around to hear it, does it make a sound? I?m not exactly sure how it came up in conversation, but I do know that we had a short laugh in passing about the classic riddle, and then quickly moved on to other topics of discussion, mainly tennis.Later on, I got thinking about how Guillermo Canas? remarkable performance in Miami has played out to this point. He hasn?t been overpowering players with unreturnable shots, but then again, it?s not like he?s simply hitting moonballs and keeping rallies alive, waiting for his opponent to make a mistake. After watching four of Canas? matches this week, I?m having a hard time characterizing his very effective game ? it doesn?t look unique at first glance, but once you watch it more frequently, you realize that not many other players are competing th...
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Something relatively new
2007-03-29 15:45:00
I didn't have a chance to watch any tennis yesterday, but it certainly wasn't by choice. I arrived home from the office looking forward to seeing the conclusion of the battle of the Andy's (Roddick & Murray), but for the third time this year, the match didn't turn into the classic encounter that many expected. Not to take anything away from their first two tussles - a Murray straight set victory in San Jose, and a Roddick straight set win in Memphis - but I think a lot of tennis fans are still waiting for a match of theirs to go the distance. Unfortunately for the fans in attendance, it was much more of a letdown than anyone expected, as Roddick was forced to retire due to a left hamstring strain. Before I even shut down my computer or turned off my phone at work, I saw the unfortunate text of "5-3 Ret." on the Sony Ericsson Open's website. Not good times.The only other match of interest to me on yesterday?s schedule was a rematch of the Indian Wells final - Rafael Nadal v...
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Canas' double
2007-03-28 06:07:00
Tennis writers refer to back-to-back victories at the first two Masters Series events of the year as the Indian Wells-Miami ?double.? This impressive feat was last accomplished by Roger Federer, both in 2005 and 2006. In doing so, Federer planted the seeds for a pair of seasons that bloomed into some of the most dominant in tennis history. In ?05, Federer finished 81-4, and in doing so, won two Grand Slams and four AMS shields. The following year, he bested these achievements by winning three of the four Grand Slams, four more AMS shields, as well as the Tennis Masters Cup. Clearly, Federer is the most dominant player of his era, and going into this year?s Indian Wells and Miami events, he was the authoritative favourite in both.So I don?t think it?s a stretch to suggest that, even though Guillermo Canas can?t achieve the traditional ?double?, the Argentine deserves his own unique distinction for his efforts this year.When I turned on the match as I returned home from work (I d...
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Whacking Day (part 6)
2007-03-27 02:51:00
I don?t know if I would dub the Fabrice Santoro/Ivan Ljubicic third round match as the ?match of the year?, but I will say authoritatively that it was the most entertaining contest that I?ve watched in 2007. A fitting end to ?Whack ing Day?, this match, which I was looking forward to ever since I missed Santoro?s trickery against Carlos Moya on Sunday, lived up to all the expectations I had and then some. You could say it was the anti-Chinese dinner, or more appropriately, a great desert after a long day (meal) of tennis.Fabrice?s unique two-handed forehand and precise backhand were on full display right from the onset, as was his rainbow-coloured Lacoste polo. Now, since Ljubicic ended up winning this match, I feel obligated to use his picture atop this post, but fear not ? if you look back to yesterday evening?s post, I uploaded a Santoro picture for you all to see. Check it out; it?s worth your time.Just like Nikolay Davydenko many hours ago, Ljubicic was uncharacteristically ...
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Whacking Day (part 5)
2007-03-27 00:05:00
I?ve been looking forward to Fabrice Santoro?s match against Ivan Ljubicic all day, so I?m going to keep this short.I had some Kung Pao chicken for dinner, but unfortunately it wasn't that good. I got my hopes way up, and they were quickly dashed by some unnecessary vegetables and nuts in the dish. Also, I didn?t feel that there was enough chicken.Speaking of getting my hopes up, you of course must have known that I had high hopes for Richard Gasquet against Guillermo Canas. But for all that Gasquet has to offer, I never felt that at any point did he actually threaten the Argentine with his game. Richard?s forehand was completely off today, and really, that lowered the effectiveness of his entire game. It didn?t help that during the biggest points of the match (notably during the first set tiebreak), Gasquet performed poorly and never really looked comfortable in the moment. He played solid tennis, but he never put Canas away when given the chance (he had multiple break point...
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Whacking Day (part 4)
2007-03-26 22:37:00
Before I go to pick up some Chinese food (nothing like a revitalizing meal after an honest day?s work), some thoughts on the Federer/Almagro match, which just concluded:- I was reading on the message boards before the match started that this contest should be one to look forward to because of Almagro?s attitude ? that he wouldn?t be in awe, and in a way, this arrogance would serve him well against a superior opponent. In the first set, I would actually have to agree with this poster that Almagro?s confidence in himself might have been a positive, as the Spaniard held his own with Federer, trading shots like he was his equal. The only problem was, once Federer finally made a dent in Almagro?s game, this ?don?t care? attitude backfired, and Nicolas mentally folded on a number of occasions in the second set.- Almagro?s fine performance in Rome last year against Federer (lost 3-6, 7-6, 5-7 in the quarters) gave him enough confidence that he could play with the world number one, and he...
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Whacking Day (part 3)
2007-03-26 20:59:00
Hard hitting, hard serving, hard-nosed. That?s how I?d describe the first set of the Juan Ignacio Chela/Tomas Berdych match.These are some of the premier ball strikers on tour, taking forehand cracks that would make Fernando Gonzalez proud. Not surprisingly, a couple of things happened early on due to these similar styles of play:- A quick pace to the match (just over a half an hour was needed to complete the first set).- A server?s dream ? both also hit their serves with the pace of their forehands; the first three games were love games to the server.I was commenting on the TennisWorld message board pretty regularly during this match, when someone asked for an analysis of this duel. Watching it on The Tennis Channel, I quickly obliged, commenting that:?Hard serving, hard hitting...I would bet my bottom dollar on a tiebreaker. 4-4 at the moment. I think Tomas will outclass Chela though with his superior ground strokes.?Just a few minutes later, Chela broke the Czech. Tennis is a...
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Whacking Day (part 2)
2007-03-26 19:36:00
Amer Delic must be a little camera shy, because when I was looking for a photo of his to use in order to celebrate his win against #4 seed Nikolay Davydenko, I could only uncover shots from last week?s Pacific Life Open. That should change shortly, as Delic will be headed to the fourth round, and will likely play on a premier court once again. The Miami fans will know the name, and hopefully, the photographers will as well.[Editor?s Note ? As I was publishing this, the newest AP photos were uploaded to Yahoo! Sports?I?ve decided to keep the above paragraph in however, as this day is just as much a memoir of my experiences, as it is the players in Miami.]When we last spoke, Delic secured an unlikely break against the usually unflappable Davydenko to keep the first set alive. The set eventually headed to a tiebreaker, but Delic?s serve ? powerful (I saw one at 139 mph) and precise (he had good variety wide and up the middle), did the trick as he took the set 7-6.As I was making my ...
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