Justine is Queen; Maria on Upswing

Justine Henin crowned herself the Queen of Tennis this weekend, but Maria Sharapova isn't too disappointed to take the title of Princess.

Henin, the world No. 1 and undisputed Roger Federer of women's tennis proved this weekend that she may not need the aforementioned title comparing her to Federer - perhaps the Swiss is the Justine Henin of men's tennis?

Nonetheless, Henin ended the year 63-4, including winning her last 25 straight matches. Her last loss came at the hands of baby-eater Marion Bartoli at Wimbledon. Henin took revenge upon Bartoli this week while on her way to the Madrid title by double-donuting the Frenchwomen 6-0 6-0 in round robin play.

Yet it was the brilliance of Maria Sharapova that shocked both the crowd and the resurgent Russian this week. After a dismal season in Sharapova terms (she was 36-10 prior to Madrid and had four dismal losses at the majors), Sharapova rolled through her round robin matches and then dispatched Serbian Ana Ivanovic in the semifinals in straight sets.

The final, in which Henin won in 3 hours and 24 minutes after a 5-7 7-5 6-3 battle, was nothing short of epic. Henin's sheer resilience and consistency in the tight second set and her ability to close out the title in the third proved again to everyone how dominant the Belgian is in this global women's sport.

No doubt 2008 will bring more great tennis from both of these women after such an incredible end to the season. With the prospect of a healthy Serena Williams, a resurgent Jelena Jankovic and the returns of Lindsay Davenport and Amelie Mauresmo (remember her?), the tennis season should be a competitive.

RANT: For the Love of the Comeback

As we speak, Troy is making his way back from Madrid into France, where he's doing a study abroad program for the semester. We'll have wrap-up commentary about his Madrid excursion sometime this week, along with pictures and (I'm hoping) maybe some video. I'm jealous that Troy got to experience so much high-quality tennis compared to my New Haven trip, but also so thankful that he was willing and able to share with us his journey.

A few thoughts from this weekend:

First off, David Nalbandian played some great tennis. I think tennis, and perhaps sport in general, is the second great arena for comeback artists. The first would obviously be Hollywood, where people are re-making themselves everyday.

It is rare to see a player display such different personas on court in one calendar season. Sure, tennis has seen the comeback stories of Agassi, Seles and Capriati (along with more recent small-scale comebacks like Serena and Henin), yet for a player to play so poorly and brilliantly in one season is something we don't witness much.

Now before you jump off your seat and say "You idiot! Players go through valleys and peaks all the time!", let me explain what I mean. To me, there is a difference between a player stringing together a few quality matches after having a lackluster season and a player beating the Top 3 ranked men in the world AND winning a Masters series event after having a lackluster season.

David Nalbandian did the latter. Just a couple weeks ago, I did one of my "Where Are They Now?" updates in a post, in which I called Nalbandian an "overweight has-been". Looking at those words now, they look harsh and un-called for, but a few weeks ago, I think they were particularly true and accurate. Nalbandian was just 25-17 coming into this week in Madrid. And though those numbers aren't alarming by any means, he had reached just one quarterfinal in his entire full-season schedule. And we're talking about a guy who made the quarters or better of 8 out of 11 slams played between the US Open '03 and the French '06!

His feat this week (beating the Top 3 players in consecutive matches) makes him just the third man since 1994 to do so. And while some tennis fans think that the current state of the game hovers at a level below what it once was, I think Nalbandian's accomplishment should be marked with high praise; he salvaged an embarrassing season in a single week, or, three days to be exact.

In his press conference after the match, Nalbandian said that he thought the timing of the win couldn't be better. He believes it gives him a fresh start for 2008, and I would have to agree.

The one thing the Argentine must continue to do is stay healthy. He has always struggled with his fitness - his belly a sign of where his work ethic is hovering - but it's his health that is most important. If he can stay healthy, and in turn get into great shape, he showed this week that he is among the greats in the game...and not just for a match or two.

To say that Nalbandian is "back where he belongs" or that he will be a sure-shot contender for the Australian Open would be rather foolish. He did, however, show that he's capable of playing great tennis for multiple matches, and that's all the professional tennis tour asks of its great players: play good, and do it consistently.

Perhaps the disinterest that Nalbandian exhibited at last year's Wimbledon, when he tanked a match just to go watch a soccer match (hasn't he hear of TiVo?) caught up with him this year. The injuries, the lack of off-court training and the disinterest all pooled together in '07 to make a great player just mediocre. And as a professional athlete, mediocrity can be worse than failure, especially for someone who's tasted the cake at the top.

If anyone can love a great comeback story more than the sport or screen world, it's the individual himself. There is nothing more motivating to hear bad things said about yourself, or whispers about the person/athlete/actor you once were and then turn around and say "Ha! I proved you wrong!" And if Nalbandian can keep his hunger - for something more than just a Masters Cup - alive...perhaps for something called a Major, we might just see his comeback story continue.

David Beats Goliath

David Nalbandian stunned Roger Federer in the finals of Madrid today, winning 1-6 6-3 6-3.

We'll have a re-cap later on from Troy about this shocking development.

Meanwhile, Justine Henin continued her dominance of the women's tour by knocking out Tatiana Golovin 6-4 6-4 in the finals at Zurich.

A great day of quality tennis!

Exclusive: Day at the Masters Pt. 2

Troy is at it again on semifinal day at the Madrid Masters (or as he calls it, "Quadruple M"). Check out his latest post, complete with pictures:

Things are wrapping up quickly at the Quadruple M this weekend. Nalbandian's run continues as he takes yet another Top 3 victim in Novak Djokovic. Ironically enough, Nalbandian's run is looking more and more like Novak's at this summer's Masters Montreal. Djokovic's game seemed intact all around excluding his serve which disappointed on several key points. It seems he is also suffering something common among the elite Serbian tennis players: burnout. Novak admitted that he felt "really exhausted" during the match and smiled at the prospect of a week off.


Mirka, no stranger to R & R herself, continued her courtside reign this weekend. Last night she spent most of her time on her new pink cellphone and chatting with her friend. Today was no different, although, judging by other's reactions, she seems to have picked up a strange odor today. Too much arroz con habicheula's?


Meanwhile, Mirka's unidentified boyfriend continued to live up to his reputation and seemingly permanent number one seeding during a semifinal routing of Nicholas Kiefer. Kiefer, the only man to play Federer in all four Grand Slams (as recalled by Fed himself), took a respectable eight games off the Swiss. The 6-4, 6-4 victory kept
Federer's straight set record intact at this year's MMMM. People have started to run out of things to ask Roger, as the latter part of his press conference was dedicated to his F1 Racing predictions and the whereabouts of Juliette the cow (which he received as a gift for winning the Swiss Open at Gstaad in 2003). Federer admitted the cow was slaughtered.


The Bryan Brothers kept their slaughter of the doubles game alive with a win over the resurgent Argentine team of Nalbandian and Guillermo Canas. There was plenty of belly-bumping and Argentine ball abuse to be had during the entertaining match-up.


Tomorrow's finals should be interesting. Although the number one seeds in both singles and doubles are through (again) this time, it seems like they will all have their hands full. Anyone else smell an upset? Or is that just Mirka?


All photos by Troy Venechanos.

Madrid Exclusive: A Day at the Masters

Troy's live in Madrid giving us the play-by-play with his always-witty commentary:

Tennis balls in Madrid are big. So big that they need large Sony Ericsson WTA Tour labels and their own velvet ropes.


Madrid is wrapping up the first of its two big tennis 'balls,' and today its host left the party early. In fact, today was a day of grand exits and entrances. Let's review:

Novak Djokovic entered the semifinals with a convincing win over Mario Ancic. He rarely seemed threatened and despite an awkward landing on his foot that resulted in medical timeout, he closed out the match with ease. As he moves forward, we can wave goodbye to any clear idea of the world's second best player.


As we know, Rafa exited the Mutua Madrilena Masters Madrid earlier than anyone (here) expected. The MMMM's pride and joy didn't leave them without a few words on his regrets and overall disappointment with his performance. Surprisingly he was in good spirits during the press conference. He cracked jokes and seemed at home and at ease with the Spanish press. Although its so hard to tell - emotional subtly is definitely his strong suit.


Good-bye Rafa. Hello to the Nalbandian we once knew. It's hard to argue with David's performance today. You may think the match was closer than the score indicated, but it wasn't. The slimmed-down Argentine played flawless tennis when he had to and even when he didn't, too. I had never seen him smile until today during his post-match comments. He should enjoy it while it lasts; I'm sure he has Federer at the back of his mind. (Nalbandian next plays Djokovic in the semis, but could face Federer - whom he beat at the Masters Cup in '05 - in the final.)


Federer made his way to the semis with a straight-set win over Spain's last hope, Feliciano Lopez. In typical Federer style, he has cut himself an easy path through the draw. He steamrolled who everyone thought would be his biggest pre-final hurdle, Guillermo Canas. Although for some reason Willy seems less than intimidating
lately...


All photos by Troy Venechanos.

Clip of the Week: Ouch!

I'm not sure which is more embarrassing: that the Madrid Masters still insists using female models as ball girls or the fact that Novak Djokovic hit one of them with a misfired return.

The crowd (and Djokovic and Fernando Verdasco) were all a little scared for the victim for a second before she assured everyone that she was okay with the wave of a hand.



Meanwhile, Rafael Nadal was shocked by David Nalbandian in the quarters, winning just three games in a straight-set loss. A disappointing exit for Rafa in his comeback tournament, especially because he's the hometown boy.

More From Madrid

Even though Andy Roddick withdrew due to a recurring injury, Madrid is still in full-flight with the top three seeds (Federer, Nadal and Djokovic) all competing in top form.

Fellow blogger and former co-intern Troy is there taking in the action live and will have exclusive photos and recaps for the AIPT over the weekend and early next week.

Stay tuned!

Madrid (In Case You Forgot...)

In case you forgot, there's this tournament known as the Madrid Masters. It's going on as we speak. And from what I've gathered so far, it's a pretty big deal.

We'll have semifinal and championship coverage over the weekend. Cheers!