!Petko by Pete Bodo
MIAMI, Fla.—The urge to find the "magic bullet" isn't exclusive to tennis players, although something about the process is especially appealing—and suited to—the profession. After all, there's only so much a pro can do in pursuit of a win. Fight hard (nothing magical there); master your nerves (it's a process somewhat beyond your control); keep the ball in play (it's extraordinary how large a role this plays in a tennis match, despite the self-evident benefits—just ask Caroline Wozniacki). Come up with and implement a brilliant strategy.
Now we're talking magic bullets, as in: You gotta set him up so he has to go down the line with the forehand; he hates that! Or, She can only go cross-court with the backhand, so work her way over there, then when you have her out of position, pull the trigger down the line. Who can forget how Arthur Ashe beat overwhelming favorite Jimmy Connors in the 1975 Wimbledon final, taking the pace off everything (including that whiplash Ashe forehand, a feat unto itself)? Ashe just dumped everything over the top of the net, on the center service line. He was rewarded with his only Wimbledon title.
And I swear, Aranxta Sanchez-Vicario beat Steffi Graf in the 1991 French Open semis, 6-0, 6-2 (I think that was the year, but all I really remember is that I was there, it happened, and I was amazed) by...hitting to her forehand.
Yep. Sanchez-Vicario went right at Graf's biggest shot, taking off the pace, daring Graf to do what she did best—tag the winner. But Graf was more accustomed to hitting those big forehands into an open court, and/or on the run; she wasn't prepared to go for the winner off a neutral, slow-to-medium paced ball that literally begged to be spanked. Basically, that forehand was not a rally shot; it was a lethal weapon used to end points. Graf made numerous errors, and I found myself wondering why more women didn't try the ploy. The answer is now obvious to me. To successfully implement that strategy requires a high level of "execution" from both parties—although I'm sure the person playing the Graf role in this scenario wouldn't exactly describe it that way.
Today, Andrea Petkovic toppled world No. 1 Caroline Wozniacki. And she's convinced that she did it with a "magic bullet" she loaded up with the help of her coach, Petar Popovic. And being Petkovic (I'll do a full post on her later this week, probably tomorrow), she felt no compunctions about broadcasting her discoveries. Petko is no paranoid, run-of-the-mill pro, worried that the entire world is going to steal her brilliant ideas and trade secrets.
"Most of the players think they can overpower Caroline. I think that's the wrong approach, because that's where she's most comfortable, when she can run and bring the most balls back. Then when you lose your concentration for once on your shot, she goes for it. It's not like she's...some like to say that she's pushing...But it's not like the balls are slow and they are not short, you know. They are quite deep, so you cannot really attack them.
"So what I try to do is mix it up and to make her play, and then when I had the short ball to go for it. Because if you try to hit every single shot with full power, full power, full power, she just gets more comfortable, more comfortable, and eventually you're gonna miss. She's not gonna miss the last one.
"So this is what I tried to do, just be patient and wait for the short ball, and until then try to mix it up and also give her the initiative to try to play."
To all of which Wozniacki replied: "Well, I don't know. You know, I lost the match. That's what happens. If she had a plan, great for her."
Oh.
But seriously, this episode raises tennis' version of the age-old "chicken-or-egg" question. Did Petkovic win because she had a superior game plan—a magic bullet? Or merely because Wozniacki played a lousy match? One thing about these situations where a magic bullet has been fired: the loser almost never acknowledges that the winner has found her soft underbelly. It would be downright stupid to do so for various reasons, including the state of her self-regard. Jimmy Connors retired, happily oblivious to the fact that he had trouble dealing with low, soft balls to his forehand. Graf left us behind without ever demonstrating that her forehand could be serviceable as a rally (rather than point-ending) shot. And more power to those icons; their resumes are all the defense they need.
Wozniacki's reaction to the loss was telling, especially in light of the mild controversy surrounding her status as a player who reached and remained at No. 1 without having won even one Grand Slam title. She didn't make excuses, and she didn't downplay the significance of the result. She mused, "Well, it always hurts to lose, no doubt about it. You always want to win. I'm a fighter. I'm a competitor. So I definitely always want to win...(But) um, you know, there's very good players out there, and I cannot win every time. Then sometimes you just need that, you know—sometimes when you lose, you realize you still have somewhere to work to do, you can still improve, and you go back on the practice court and come back even better."
It's important to remember that a magic bullet is only as good as the aim of the person firing it, and likely to find its target in direct relation to how little that target moves—how easy or difficult it is to hit. Petkovic had a pretty large target yesterday. A shell-shocked reporter, noting all those forehand errors by Wozniacki, asked, "What was going on with your forehand today?"
To which Wozniacki replied, "Well, nothing was going on with my forehand. Nothing was going on with my backhand. You know, I lost the match. She played a good match. I had so many chances in my first set. You know, I had set points and I didn't take them. You know, then just the energy level dropped a little bit and I lost the match. That's what happens in sport."
I don't know if it took a magic bullet to hit the bull-seye that's now painted on Wozniacki's back, but there are times when any cartridge will do, and tomorrow we'll see if Petkovic can build upon this good win.