Jon,
You’re on your way back to NY at this point, I imagine, so you can read this at your leisure over the holiday weekend. Playing any tennis after seeing so much? I’ll be out on the courts in Brooklyn Monday and Tuesday. I can remember going out the afternoon that Boris Becker won Wimbledon in 1985 and serving better because I had unconsciously incorporated his deep knee bend into my motion. I’ve altered the delivery a bit over the years, but the knee bend is still there (though I don’t think it’s quite as deep). I never needed a lesson to do it; watching Boris was enough. Somehow I doubt that Andy Murray’s combo one-handed-slice/two-handed-drive backhand will suddenly appear in my repertoire tomorrow.
So what’d you think of Saturday? What started as a day of big match-ups ended as a surprisingly comprehensive disaster for the U.S. Let’s start with Agassi-Nadal. I watched the first set on a little TV in my sister’s basement with my dad. As I said, we were at a 1st-birthday party for my niece; we knew we were in trouble when, at 5-5 in the first-set tiebreaker, we heard “Happy Birthday” start up in the yard behind us. We’d thought we could see the end of the set and get back out for the cake-cutting, but we forgot about Nadal and his relentless toweling and ball-bouncing. Have you noticed the special care he takes drying off his guns? Think I could intimidate my opponents by doing that between points?
Anyway, the first set was worth hanging in to see. Nadal slightly outplayed Agassi—he had six break points and three set points—but Andre served well and held his own from the baseline, and he managed to get a stranglehold on the tiebreaker at 5-2. But that was when Nadal chose to play one of his best points of the first set, changing directions with a series of heavy ground strokes and finishing it with a blatant crosscourt forehand winner that he appeared to just flick past Agassi from behind the baseline. That was the first sign of the turning point that became obvious when Agassi served at 5-4. First, Andre got a short forehand that he tried to go inside-in with and pulled just wide; it looked like he got caught just a little farther toward the sideline than he thought he would and didn’t have much room to work with on that side. On the next point Nadal showed that he can do on grass what he’s famous for on clay, hitting a corner-to-corner forehand crosscourt pass at full stretch. When he followed it up with an ace (the big-point ace is a specialty of his on all surfaces), you knew Agassi, 36 and physically shaky, was in trouble.
How did the post-match interview play in Centre Court? It was pretty special on TV, and nice to see one of our own so appreciated in another country. The camera got right up in Andre's famous gleaming dome. He's got one of the great faces in the game—every emotion is on the surface—and it hit me right there that I won't be seeing him play for much longer, and never again at Wimbledon (that's tough to process for an Andre fan). Agassi was a little overwhelmed and at a loss for words, but Sue Barker ended it perfectly: "Ladies and gentlemen, the great Andre Agassi."
When he’s playing well, there aren’t many players I like watching more than Andy Murray. His variety of shots, mix of counterpunching and first-strike tennis, and ability to construct a points a shot or two ahead are all the things that pro tennis players are supposed to have but so seldom do. What was interesting to me in his win over Roddick was how coolly he absorbed Andy's power. Murray, with his two-handed backhand, could handle Roddick’s serve, and once a point began he could stand his ground against the American’s forehand without having to simply blast the ball back. In the first set, Murray was for the most part outplayed by Roddick, but when it came to a big point, the Brit had that one extra way to win, whether it was a drop shot, drop volley, lob, or an impossible get at set point. So impossible that Cliff Drysdale had already said “That’ll do it,” giving the set to Roddick, before Murray tracked the ball down and won the point.
Finally, late last night I caught the end of Venus Williams’ loss to Jelena Jankovic. Williams didn’t play well—when does she, exactly? and how many times can you “not play your best” before that just becomes the way you play?—but I was glad to see Jankovic, a very solid young Serb/Floridian, finally get a defining win. With the women, the second tier of players so rarely get a shot at upsetting a Top 10 player and having a day in the spotlight. It’s exciting when they do, and hopefully this will give the somewhat flaky Jankovic a jolt of confidence. As far as Williams’ day, why, when she was down in the third set, did she start to go for even more with her shots? Jankovic was obviously nervous and ready to miss. I know Venus’ strokes aren’t built for consistency, but I thought in the end she was pressing just as much as her opponent.
Oh yeah, there was one U.S. winner Saturday: Shenay Perry, who now plays Elena Dementieva in the quarters. Did you get a look at her? I was impressed with her range and all-court athleticism—she’s fun to watch. This was the first time I’d seen her for an extended period; I hope it isn’t the last.
OK, the second Monday is always a big day at Wimbledon: “the best day in tennis,” is Dick Enberg's annual mantra. I believe every singles player, men and women, is in action. Here are a few match-ups of interest.
Federer vs. Berdych
Berdych beat him at the Olympics in 2004—one of the hardest losses of Fed’s career—and the world No. 1 said he was nervous before their match at the French last month. Then he went out and killed him. Berdych is a sleeping giant at this point, a young guy with a monster game who will break out at a Slam someday. But I doubt it will be this one. I think when it comes to Berdych, that loss in ’04 will keep Fed concerned and vigilant for a while longer.
Mauresmo vs. Ivanovic
A similar situation to above. Ivanovic is an up-and-comer who hasn’t shown all she’s got yet at a Slam. Her biggest win came against Mauresmo at last year’s French Open, though knocking off Dinara Safina in three on Saturday wasn’t bad either. She’s got a real shot at taking out the world No. 1 again.
Nadal vs. Labadze
Watch out for this one. Labadze is the game’s premier slacker. He’s often overweight, goofs around a lot on court, and was implicated in a match-fixing investigation last year. But he’s a shot-maker and a lefty, which will negate Nadal’s usual advantage. And you could forgive Rafa for wondering, after he’s beaten Agassi, why he even has to play Labadze. But Nadal doesn’t do let downs, and should win a tight one on desire alone.
Other highlights:
Baghdatis/Murray: A potential shot-making exhibition by two stars of the future. I’ll take Murray due to home-court advantage.
Na Li/Vaidisova: The Chinese women, with their quick, flat strokes, have fared well at Wimbledon. But Vaidisova is looking for a showdown with Clijsters next.
Djokovic/Ancic: Another entertaining baseline sizzler. What are the chances we get to see any of it?
Myskina/Jankovic: The Russian won a colossal bash fest over the Serb here last year.
Finally, as Moe Szilack once said (this will be my only Simpsons reference, I promise), it’s suicide again for me. On the women’s side, I’ll take Ai Sugiyama, who is tough on grass but would face Henin-Hardenne next.
As for the men, Gonzo did me in on Saturday, losing to Ferrer after being up two sets. How did that happen? And what is David Ferrer doing in the fourth round of Wimbledon? This fact alone should let officials know that the grass is now too damned slow.
Who’s everyone else got?
ST
Steve,
Hard to believe, but my week at Wimbledon has come to a close. What have we learned? Well, Roger Federer certainly knows his way around a grass court, Rafael Nadal is a quick study, and Andre Agassi will be missed.
That said, two of the bigger contenders, Andy Roddick and Venus Williams, won’t be around in Week 2. I’ll take the second part first. I’m not terribly shocked that Venus took a third round powder. I think her Wimbledon win last year was more of an aberration than a return to form. For a couple of weeks her confidence and muscle memory kicked in, but since then she’s been largely inconsistent. Venus will almost always be the superior athlete to whoever she’s up against, but her unwillingness to practice and make enhancements to some of her deficiencies will continue to plague her. Players like Jankovic, who spend so much more time than Venus honing their games, have started to realize that if they simply hang with Venus she will eventually breakdown. Truthfully, Lisa Raymond had Venus beaten in the second round, but couldn’t close the deal. It took an extra round, but justice was served.
Roddick’s loss to Andy Murray was more of a jolt. But all props to Murray, the chap has skills and rose to the occasion and outplayed Roddick. The Brit plays with an old tennis soul, using so many great shot combinations and tactics. For a second I thought he was using a wood racquet. Murray reminds me of a good NBA point guard. He can score with a big serve or powerful ground stroke winner, but he also knows how to setup a point by working the angles and manipulating his opponent. Roddick looked more one-dimensional than ever when compared with all the variety that Murray employed.
In his press conference after the match, Roddick said that pounding the corners with his forehand used to be more than enough to get the job done. He gave plenty of credit to Murray, but seemed to also imply that the slower grass courts didn’t help his cause. There’s probably a little merit for that assessment, but I think the bigger issue for Roddick is that his power game isn’t novel anymore. Murray rose through the ranks of the juniors in which plenty of players had serves and forehands comparable to Roddick’s. Not as good, of course, but of similar speed. So this new crop of comers – Monfils, Murray, Djokovic, etc. – won’t be overwhelmed by Roddick’s brawn. He still gets plenty of aces, but opponents are getting accustomed to Roddick’s kick second serve, which also used to be a primary source for free points.
The other part of Roddick’s game that needs addressing is his net play. It’s not that he’s unwilling to move forward, it might actually be that he’s too eager. I felt he prematurely attacked Murray behind marginal backhand slice approaches or off forehands that didn’t do enough damage. The other thing I noticed is that Roddick looks a little lost once he gets up to net. His volleys are far from textbook, but even more suspect is his positioning. Roddick never looks completely sure of where he’s suppose to cover, so it makes a shot that he’s not totally confident with that much more challenging. In a way, when Roddick forays into net it’s more of a bluff than an honest attempt to win the point. Murray’s passing shots were spot on, but Roddick didn’t help his own cause.
Without question the biggest story of the week, though, was Agassi’s last dance. I know he’s a gamer, but I’m not sure Agassi came to Wimbledon with any other purpose than to say goodbye. Seemed he was pretty content to beat a couple of journeymen and then bow out admirably against a top gun. Agassi gave Nadal a scare in the first set, and if not for a pair of errant forehands should’ve taken won the tiebreaker. After that you could see the starch come out of Agassi’s game and it looked like he just wanted to keep it close. And unless Agassi starts to move a little better (pure speculation, but I don’t think he’s 100% healthy) expect similar results in Flushing.
Speaking of Rafa, he continues to impress. It’s not that previous French champs such as Guga and Moya didn’t have the potential to succeed at Wimbledon, but they never had the fire to do so like Nadal. I’m not saying he’s going to win the tournament, but I have a good feeling about his next match, so I’m taking Nadal as my suicide pick for the 4th round. Sorry about Gonzo. Didn’t see much of the match until the 5th, but squandering a two-set lead has got to sting. So I guess you’re still alive in the ladies draw, and I’ll see if I can close it out on the men’s side.
Unfortunately I’ll have to be making the rest of my picks from back in the States. My time at SW19 this year has come to a close, but for a first-timer it was a great run. Sure the first day was a washout, but the rest of the days were beautiful and I experienced some things I’ll always remember. I got to hear the Centre Court crowd applaud Andre Agassi as he walked out to play his final Wimbledon match. I got to watch Roger Federer, arguably the greatest grass-court player of all time, take that same stage to perform his brand of tennis/magic. And I got to see England’s next great hope for a hometown champion, Andy Murray, come of age in front of a nation.
Best of all, I got to babble about it. Thanks for all the great back and forth. But all this watching and analyzing tennis has made me eager to play, so the next time we talk about the game let’s do it on the court.
You can even serve first.
See you back in the office.
JL