Wimbledon Tidbits 2008: Venus, Serena, Rafael & Roger

I watched four time French Open champion Rafael Nadal give the Brits' last "native hope," Andy Murray a big ol' beatdown at Wimbledon yesterday.

And can I just say right here, have you ever seen a more beautiful man?  He's got that lovely boyish face, that incredibly muscular body and he's an absolute sweetheart to boot.  Rafa please, call me.  No really---call me.

After his straight sets win, Rafa booked himself a spot in Friday's semis and short of a broken leg, almost certainly a birth in Sunday's finals.  He's hitting the ball like a dream, coiling and uncoiling those lovely muscles with every stroke, and his shotmaking is approaching Federer-like levels.

As you know, I'm picking Rafa to win the whole thing, Roger or no Roger---but speaking of which, Marat Safin might have something to say about that Rafa/Roger final.

Safin gave himself a crack at Roger Federer on by knocking out Feliciano Lopez 3-6, 7-5, 7-6, 6-3, but don't let that "I'm just happy to get this far" attitude deceive you.  Safin means business and I'm thinkin' Roger can expect a serious challenge.

When it comes to the women, I just have two words for you:  Williams and Williams.  I'm a big fan of Elena Dementieva---crappy serve or no crappy serve---but no way is she beating Venus today.

Wimbledon Tidbits 2008: Upsets Galore Plus Soaring and Sinking Serbs

Welcome to my first Wimbledon Tidbits post of 2008.  It's the time of year when I keep the strawberries in the fridge, the Pimm's in the cooler and the tennis on the telly 'round the clock.  It's been a couple of rollicking days at the All England Club, so I'll get right to it.  Let's start with the Serbs.

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My first soaring Serb?  Ana Ivanovic.  Ana shouldn't just be kissing that net on the Court 1 at Wimbledon.  She should wrap it up, pack it in her bag, and then have it gold plated.  That's 'cause if it wasn't for that cord and the ball that dribbled over it on match point, Ana would be watching the rest of Wimbledon on the plane flying home.

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Poor Nathalie Dechy.  The 29 year old Frenchwoman takes the number one player to the max in their second round Wimbledon match only to lose 6-7, 7-6, 10-8.  By the end of the match I was rooting for her like crazy, but it was not to be.

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On the men's side, it's obvious little sister, Dinara Safina's run to the final of the French put a tennis ball up the butt of her talented, yet sometime slacker, older brother Marat Safin.  I was kind of pissed when he didn't fly over from England to watch Safina's French final against Ivanovic, but I'll forgive him now that all that practicing on grass paid off with a win yesterday over No. 3 in the world, my sinking Serb, Novak Djokovic.

Rafael Nadal: Wimbledon's Next Champion?

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You see this picture?  The one right above this text?  That's the picture of the 2008 Wimbledon Champion.  That's right, I'm making a prediction right now that Rafael Nadal is going to win the 2008 Wimbledon Championships.  No less than the great Bjorn Borg himself made that same prediction at the end of the French Open, right after Rafa had won his fourth in convincing fashion, and since Bjorn and I are just like this, I'm going on record today with my own prediction.

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Rafa's made no secret of how much he wants to win Wimbledon and reportedly was crushed after losing that five set final to Roger Federer last year.  Today however, he beat Novak Djokovic to win the first grass court championship of his career, the Artois Championship, 7-6 (7-5), 7-5.  This after beating defending champion Andy Roddick 7-5, 6-4 yesterday in the semis.

I'm thinking Rafa's now ready to whip some Federer butt on Wimbledon grass and this is the year he's gonna do it.  Put money on it:  Rafa and Federer in the 2008 Wimbledon final and Rafa in four sets.

French Open Tennis: Rafael Nadal Makes It Four In A Row!

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The final score was 6-1, 6-3, 6-0.  No, that last set score is not a typo:  6-0.  Against Roger Federer.  Rafael Nadal is now a four time French Open champion with no sign that he's going to relinquish that title anytime soon.  And how cute is he?  To paraphrase Mary Carillo, for all his arrogant style of play on the court he's remarkably humble off the court.  And who wouldn't be arrogant on the court if you had the kind of game he does.

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In the shadow of Bjorn Borg, Rafael Nadal won this French Open without losing a set and by making the great Roger Federer look like a junior playing his first grand slam tournament.  Roger got a bit of a run going in the second set when he started charging the net and putting away some short, angled volleys, but he couldn't keep it up as Rafa got his passing shot in a groove.  Before Roger knew it, Rafa's passing shots were whizzing by Roger like missiles and Roger's volleys started going into the net.

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After the match even Roger admitted, "He keeps his ball in play and it's so hard to attack him, you know, especially when he's playing like the way he was playing today."  And then, "I'm looking forward to the grass, that's for sure."

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Then Rafa had this to say, "I never thought about this before.  My motivation is improved. If I want to be here, I have to improve everyday.  I play a very, very good match." When John MacEnroe asked him about his place in history, Rafa said, "I don't know about the history. We will see when I finish my career." 

Then when John asked how would Nadal play Nadal, Rafa said with a laugh, "Try to be aggressive and don't have a  lot of mistakes," seeming laughing at John's stupid question.

How cute is he?  I just want to wrap him up and take him home.

MacEnroe then interviewed Bjorn Borg and asked him why he thinks Nadal is so good on clay.  Borg said, "He has a mental edge before he walks into the court.  Rafa is consistent.  He never, ever play any bad matches on the clay and all the players know that and that's why he's gonna come back and win this tournament many more times." 

When John asked how Borg would play Nadal, Borg said, "I would be more patient playing Nadal."  He continued that before you walk out on court, you have to tell yourself that you're going to be out there a long time.

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And my own personal message for Roger: you better get your ass on the grass and polish it up because Rafa wants that Wimbledon title in the worst way, and if he gets you in a bind like he did last year, he's not letting you out this time. 

Bjorn Borg agrees with me, making the bold prediction that if Nadal gets past the first two rounds of Wimbledon, he's going to win the title this year, Roger or no Roger.  "I think he has a really good shot to win the title this year.  This year might be Nadal's year."

I can't wait, but until then, a big congratulations to the King Of Clay.

French Open Tennis: Ana Ivanovic Wins!

Image details: French Open - Roland Garros 2008 Day Fourteen served by picapp.com

Image details: French Open - Roland Garros 2008 Day Fourteen served by picapp.com

Take a good look at the new the 2008 French Open Champion.  She was presented the winner's trophy by former champion, and newly retired No. 1, Justine Henin.

Safina told Ivanovic during the ceremony, "God loves three, so it was your turn today."  She even gently chided Ivanovic's team for being a little annoying.  Heh.  I thought that was pretty funny.

But she's earned whatever she wants to say, because she gave Ivanovic a run for her money today.  Safina had some chances, but on the important points the unforced errors did her in.  She admitted to Mary Carillo afterward that she was a bit worn down "mentally and physically" by the tough matches in the last few days.

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As for Ivanovic, she had this to say:

"Last year we three of us made the big boom here in French Open and this year you know we're coming back, we winning the grand slam titles and I think it's something that came so fast for all of us and we have great support back home and I'm just so happy to have this title for my country and it was very, very emotional day.

Today, Ivanovic just had too much power, too many weapons and too much tenacity to be denied.  The final score, 6-4, 6-3.  Congratulations to Safina for a great two weeks, and to the new champion, Ana Ivanovic.

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French Open Tennis: Rafa & Roger In The Final

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It'll be Rafael Nadal vs. Roger Federer once again in Sunday's French Open final.  It makes you kind of wonder why all those other 126 guys even bothered to show up two weeks ago!

But that's okay, 'cause this is the final everyone except those other 126 guys and their families wanted:  the King of Clay and the No. 2 player in the world against the No. 1 player and the King of Everything Else.

In semi-final number one, Novak Djokovic didn't even show up until the third set and then he left his best play too late.  By the time they were in a tie-break for the third, Rafa rattled off 6 straight points.  Djok was able to hang in there for three more, but on his fourth match point, Rafa ran down a bunch of what should have been winners for Djokovic to finally put him away 6-4, 6-2, 7-6 (3).

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I have no clue what the Gael Monfils/Roger Federer match looked like because I was relegated to listening to it on French Open radio while NBC-TV in their infinite wisdom decided to show the Rafa/Djokovic match on tape.  All I know is it went four sets, Monfils won the second 7-5 and when it was all said and done, Roger was too much for the Frenchman, 6-2, 5-7, 6-3, 7-5.

I guess I'll see it on the Tennis Channel later, that is if NBC doesn't have anything to say about it.

French Open Tennis: Ana Ivanovic The New No.1

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Ana Ivanovic, the 20 year old Serbian, defeated Jelena Jankovic in today's French Open semi-final.  She'll face the big surprise of the tournament, Dinara Safina in Saturday's final.

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French Open Tennis: Allez Gael Monfils!

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Gael Monfils, the 21 year old unseeded Frenchman has reached his first Grand Slam semi-final today with his win over Spaniard David Ferrer at the French Open.

Monfils' reward for his big win?  A crack at big dog and No. 1 player in the world, Roger Federer.  Federer should win this one, he's 3-0 against Monfils, but if the French crowd gets rockin' for their native son, Roger better be on his game or that Rafa/Roger final might be in jeopardy.

Speaking of the Rafa/Roger final, Novak Djokovic might have something to say about that when he gets a crack at the King of Clay in the other semi on Friday.  Good times.

You can read a live blog of today's play at the French open here. 

Congratulations La Monf!

 

French Open Tennis: Dinara Safina Shows Maria Sharapova The Door

Image details: French Open - Roland Garros 2008 Day Nine served by picapp.com Dinara Safina has ended the French Open hopes of No 1 Seed Maria Sharapova.  During today's fourth round, Safina saved a match point in the second set to force a tiebreak and then after trading breaks in the third, broke Sharapova twice more to close out the match 6-7, 7-6, 6-2

Safina was down 2-5 in the second set when she was able to break a shaky Sharapova and hung tough to push the set to a deciding tiebreak.  Then in the tiebreak, she was down 2-4 before pushing Sharapova around the court, mixing up her shots and winning the tiebreak 7-5.

Safina's been on a tear lately, as Bonnie Ford of ESPN.com points out in a recent French Open article about the 13th seed.

Safina, 22, won the biggest title of her career in Berlin two weeks before arriving in Paris. Her path to the championship led through then-No. 1 Justine Henin in a match destined to be the last before Henin's stunning retirement. Safina beat the Belgian in the round of 16, then polished off Serena Williams, promising up-and-comer Victoria Azarenka and Elena Dementieva.

Safina's never made much an impression on me except as being mercurial Marat Safin's little sister.  But after her results the last few weeks and the way hung tough to survive Sharapova, she's got my attention.

Safina will face fellow Russian Elena Dementieva in the quarterfinals and if she plays like she played today, she has every chance to not only get to the semis but the finals.

More Thoughts On Justine Henin

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Now that I've picked my jaw up off the ground, I'm ready to say more about the retirement of world No.1 tennis player Justine Henin.

As commenter Denise pointed out to me yesterday, it's possible I jumped the gun with my speculation about why she's really retiring.  Besides the reasons I mentioned yesterday, if I'm honest, part of my reason for speculating is that I don't like her.  You see, I hold grudges---it's a character flaw that with a lot of drugs and a little therapy, I might be able to overcome, but until then, there it is.

The primary reason is the French Open semi-final she played against Serena Williams in 2003 which is described in this article by Howard Fendrich at NBC Sports.com.

However, let's go out on an high note, shall we?  I'm here to write about my memories of the 5' 6" powerhouse from Belgium.  The first that pops into my head is the semi-final she played at the 2003 US Open against Jennifer Capriati.   That match, which went into the wee hours of the night was one of the best matches I've ever seen. 

Jennifer threw every tennis skill she owned at Henin, was two points away from winning the match at least ten times, and Henin would not go away.  She was down 5-2 in the third, came back to beat Capriati, and after needing IV fluids to replenish herself, went on to win the tournament the next night.

And what about all those clashes with Serena Williams?  There were many and they were fiery.  Unlike Aranxta Sanchez-Vicario who made up for her short stature with speed, Justine developed her body with a training regimen that would kill most football players and compensated with compact power and consistent groundstrokes.  The rest of her game?  All mental.  She had a will of iron.

From The International Herald Tribune, here are some AP quotes from other players:

"She was a great champion and she gave me a world of trouble, so I hope the best for her. She had a great year last year. ... Gosh, what can you say about such a champion? I don't think we have enough time." — American player Serena Williams.

"She was a great opponent. She always challenged herself to play her best tennis no matter what the circumstances. She was just a real fighter, so I think that was really what made her best." — American player Venus Williams

"She was a great player and achieved so much. She brought a lot to the women's game. ... I'm sorry to hear this thing, but it's her own feeling and her own decision." — Serbian player Ana Ivanovic.

"It's obviously a shock for the tennis world. It's particularly surprising that it came one month before the French Open and two months before Wimbledon, which she has never won. It's unfortunate she is out of the game, but she would have had her reasons." — top-ranked men's player Roger Federer.

So a hearty farewell and good luck to Justine.  Allez!

Tennis Shocker: Justine Henin Retires!

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Justine Henin, the number one women's player in the world has announced her retirement at the age of 25!

I don't know about you, but I'm floored.  For her to retire is one thing.  For her to retire right before the French Open, which she loves and which she's won four times is shocking. 

According to BBC Sport:

The 25-year-old insists her decision is final after confirming the shock news in her native Belgium on Wednesday.

"It's the end of a wonderful adventure but it's something I have been thinking about for a long time," said the winner of seven Grand Slam singles titles.

The article continued:

Henin also insists that, unlike many other sports stars who have retired at an early age, she will not change her mind.

"A new future is ahead and I won't go back on this decision," she added.

There's got to be more to this story.  It's entirely possible that Henin's burnt out and after twenty years in tennis, she feels it's time to move on, but I'm wondering if there's not some injury we don't know about or some personal issue we don't know about.

I'm not a huge fan of Henin's, but I respect her work ethic and her accomplishments in the world of tennis.  And once I get my jaw off the ground, I might have more to say about this.
 

Serena Williams Clinches Miami

Serena Williams won her fifth Miami title yesterday by defeating Jelena Jankovic 6-1, 5-7, 6-3.  The match at first looked like it was going to be a rout with Serena taking the first set quickly and then serving for the match in the second before losing her composure, her sharp play and finally the set with a double fault.

Meanwhile Jankovic tightened up her game and though hampered somewhat by congestion from a head cold, made some amazing gets to win the second set 7-5.

In the third, Serena raced ahead to a 5-0 lead before letting Jankovic back in the match again.  During the award ceremony Serena said:  "It definitely got tough.  I think maybe I got a little tight and put too much pressure on myself."

Serena had match points at 5-1 and 5-2 and when she failed to win those, pounded her racket into the ground, yelling at herself in anger.  It must have worked because she finally put the match away at 6-3. 

With the win she ties Steffi Graf with five Miami titles. "The Serena and Steffi Open," Williams said. "I love Steffi Graf. She's a great champion and was my role model. To even be compared to her is awesome."

Roddick Rocks Roger In Miami

Andy Roddick served notice that, he may be engaged, he may not have Connors, but he's still got game.  He used that game tonight in the quarters of the Sony Ericsson Open to beat the world's No. 1 Roger Federer for only the second time in eleven tries.  Roger played well tonight, but Andy and his eighteen aces and precise shot making had an answer for everything Roger could throw at him.

For one thing, he played an excellent tiebreak to win the first set and even though he lost the second, he kept his game tight in the third.  A couple of loose points from Federer in the final set, gave Roddick the one break chance he needed, and he took it.

His serving it out for the match after that was just a formality.  Good going Andy.

This afternoon, Serena Williams won a war of attrition against Svetlana Kuznetsova in the women's semifinal.  After losing the first set 3-6, she came back to win the match, 3-6, 7-5, 6-3.  The heat rule went into effect because of the extreme temperatures on the court.  Both players benefited from a ten minute break between the second and the third set.

During the first set, Serena had to call the trainer to get treated for a back injury but she said in the post match interview that once treated, she felt better immediately.

When asked whether or not mental toughness played a role in a match like today, Serena said:

I do think it was about being mentally tough and making the right shots at the right time and just never giving up. I played a really good opponent today who has been down several match points in this tournament already, so I knew going in she wasn't just going to give it to me.

Serena will play the final on Saturday against either Jelena Jankovic or Vera Zvonareva.

Serena Williams Demolishes Justine Henin In Miami

Serena Williams had an April Fool's day surprise for Justine Henin as she demolished the top seed and No. 1 player in the world at the Sony Ericsson Open in Miami 6-2, 6-0.  Henin didn't have any answers for Serena's sharp play and steady groundstrokes.

During the second set, I was sure Henin would give Serena a run and make her play three sets, but to my stunned surprise, Serena wasn't having it.  She raced ahead to a 3-0 lead and never looked back.  On match point Henin served a double fault and I wouldn't be surprised if she thought that was par for the course.

If Venus beats Svetlana Kuznetsova tonight, that'll set up a Williams/Williams semi-final.  I can only hope.

On the men's side, James Blake convincingly beat Radek Stepanek 6-3, 6-4.

Lindsay Davenport Knocks Out Ivanovic In Miami

In an impressive display of power tennis, new Mom Lindsay Davenport knocked out No. 2 in the world Ana Ivanovic at the Sony Ericsson Open in straight sets 6-4, 6-2.   Next up for Davenport is the very beatable Dinara Safina, so look for Lindsay to make some noise this week in Miami.