Tennis Chatter: End of the Weekend

It's always tough to watch the weekend wrap-up like it was never here. I even have three-day weekends this quarter, but the days still fly by like they weren't even there in the first place.

I haven't felt this removed from the tennis scene in a long while, but alas, tennis was still being played all around the world as Davis Cup completed round one and the women were at two separate sights for smaller tourneys.

I'm still a little baffled by the in-and-out (and out-and-in) performance of Novak Djokovic this weekend. He doesn't play Friday, but then appears Saturday on the doubles court and gets a two-set-to-one lead (including 3-0 in the third!) over Nicolay Davydenko only to pull out again? Aye dios mio! Make up your mind, Djoko! I just feel like he showed so much guts and guile in Melbourne... and then, this?

If you haven't discovered Nole's web site yet, it's a treat.

The Princess of Boring won at Paris this weekend, beating up-and-comer Agnes Szavay in the finals. I would've really loved to have seen Szavay win this one, but we certainly can continue to expect great things from the Austrian. I think she might be a top ten player by the end of the year, especially if she continues to learn from experiences like this one. (If you're wondering who the Queen of Boring is, click here. But really, did you not know?)

The American men made quick work of the Austrians and their horrific clay court this weekend. Andy Roddick, James Blake and the Bryan brothers beat Austria - bad bounces and all - in three matches. Roddick struggled the most, needing five sets to win the opening rubber against Jurgen Melzer.

On the Baseline news discusses the popularity of tennis and how it can be improved while Erwin over at TSF gives us a run-down of Davis Cup attire, including the Frenchmen, who the U.S. takes on in North Carolina in April.

Day Two: The Mighty Fall (More Often)

Marion Bartoli. Lucie Safarova. Agnes Szavay. What do all three of these women have in common? They all had a fantastic 2007 season (going 133-62 collectively).

After day two of the Australian Open, however, they now have another thing in common: they all crashed out in the first round.

Bartoli and Szavay both lost three-set affairs, while Safarova was dominated in straight sets. While Bartoli's slayer was more well-known Swede Sofia Arvidsson, who's lingered inside the top 100 for the last few years, Szavay lost to Ekaterina Makarova (just her fourth grand slam match, ever) and Safarova fell to Catalina Castano (currently ranked 139).

All three women have come to find much more notoriety and expectation over the last year - especially Bartoli, who was a finalist at Wimbledon just six months ago. But the Australian summer sun and the weight of grand slam expectation seemed to weigh to heavy on the shoulders of these women, all who are in their early 20s.

Here are the final few games of Bartoli-Arvidsson, in which the Swede won 6-7 6-4 6-3.


The loss was particularly stinging for Safarova, who beat then-defending champion Amelie Mauresmo here last year on her way to her first-ever grand slam quarterfinal appearance. Safarova even defeated Justine Henin last year at the Paris Indoors, before struggling for the rest of the season with injury and consistency. Here are highlights from her '07 win in Paris:


The three women were the highest seeds to fall in the tournament thus far.

Underdogs Version: Men and Women

Now that the tennis year is in full swing, I thought it might be time to do something a little less predictable; something other than the top 10. 2007 was full of breakout artists: Ivanovic, Jankovic, Djokovic...and those are just the Serbs that caught our attention!

Here's a short list of players I think will make big noise in '08:
Lindsay Davenport
World rank: 72 '07 record: 13-1 Highlight: Winning two of three tournaments in her baby-in-tow return.
Lindsay Davenport was the feel-good story of the fall while the tennis world was engulfed in a storm of scandal that included the on-going betting scandal, Martina Hingis' bizarre re-retirement and speculation of a fixed exhibition series between the two GOATs.

Davenport's return isn't all about feeling good, however, it's about feeling great. The new mother blazed to a 13-1 record while collecting two titles and announcing a powerful return to the tour. The Californian has already committed to a full slam schedule (minus the French, of course) and has opened '08 with two wins already.

Prediction: It's hard to put Davenport up there with Henin (who she always struggled against), the Williamses and others. I think she'll no doubt make some noise at the slams, and may garner a runner-up trophy or two...but nothing more.

Tamira Pazsek
World rank: 41 '07 record: 33-18 Highlight: Making the 4th round at the USO (and beating Schnyder along the way).
Tamira Pazsek is the full package. The 17-year-old Austrian made the 4th round at both Wimbledon and the US Open on her way to finishing the year ranked 41st in the world. Her strong backcourt game was groomed for much of the year by Larry Passos, the former coach of Gustavo Kuerten. Though Passos and Pazsek have gone separate ways, the teen will certainly be a top 20 player by the end of the year.

Prediction: Top 20 by year's end along with a grand slam quarterfinal appearance (or two). In '09 she'll join Ivanovic, Jankovic and company in the "Slam Contender" category.

Agnes Szavay
World rank: 20 '07 record: 56-14 Highlight: Rising nearly 200 spots in the rankings in one calendar year.
Szavay won her first WTA title in Beijing this past fall, beating Jankovic in the final as the sixth seed. Her victory capped off what was an extremely impressive year for the Hungarian, who finished the year at No. 20 in the rankings following an impressive run to the quarters at the US Open.

Prediction: Szavay will continue her run up the rankings, but not quite at the pace she did in 2007. She doesn't have many points to defend early in the year, and could climb into the top 15 before the French. Expect her to hover there for the next year or so, before breaking in to the top 10 in '09 or '10.

Julie Ditty
World rank: 101 '07 record: 49-25 Highlight: Winning six matches at Quebec and making her first ever WTA semifinal.
Vanderbilt grad Julie Ditty continued her steady rise up the rankings in 2007 with a flurry of wins on the ITF tour. Her best results, however, came on the WTA circuit in late fall, when she qualified for four straight tournaments including Quebec, where she made the semifinals.

Prediction: The lefty has the chance to climb up the rankings (much like Szavay) early in the year. She'll be top 80 by the end of the year.

Janko Tipsarevic
World rank: 52 '07 record: 19-22 Highlight: His 8-6 in-the-fifth win over Fernando Gonzalez at Wimbledon.
Tipsarevic, the Prince of Serbian Tennis, made his mark on the ATP Tour last year by going 6-4 in the majors, including a dazzling performance at the All England Club. He won three straight five-set matches to advance to the 4th round before falling to a red-hot Juan Carlos Ferrero.

Prediction: Janko's cooky playing style, partnered with his speed and grit, will keep him in the top 50 this year. If he can stay healthy, and continue to feed off the positive energy of countryman Novak Djokovic, we could see him as a seeded player at Wimbledon and the USO.

Frank Dancevic
World rank: 72 '07 record: 18-19 Highlight: The quarterfinals at AMS Canada.
Frank Dancevic had quite the summer, where he went 7-2 and scored wins over Andy Roddick and Fernando Verdasco. After making the finals at Indianapolis, Dancevic wowed his hometown crowd in Canada by taking Rafael Nadal to three sets in the quarterfinals.

Prediction: The Canadian will continue to win matches with his rifle serve and dangerous one-handed backhand. He'll be top 50 by year's end, if not before.

Fernando Verdasco
World rank: 26 '07 record: 34-28 Highlight: Advancing to the 4th round at RG after seven straight losses.
This is the year for Fernando Verdasco. At least, that's what I say. After demonstrating so much talent and so little execution over the last few years, Verdasco, now 24, should solidify his place inside the top 20 in 2008. The success of Rafael Nadal has no doubt motivated his fellow Spaniards, and Verdasco, along with Feliciano Lopez should benefit from Nadal's success this year with some of his own.

Prediction: Top 20. Semifinals at the French.

Clip of the Week: It's Raining (DC) Men!

In my last post, I talked about how my love for the fall tennis season was rekindled with the flurry of action around the world this past weekend. With three competitive women's tournaments taking place and a handful of Davis Cup ties taking place, I felt (for the first time in years) that the tennis season continued following the annual trip to Flushing Meadows.

I thought I would put some of that tennis on display for you all, seeing that I talk about tennis more than I watch it these days. Here are several clips from Davis Cup ties around the world.

Clip One: Semifinal Wrap
Highlights of the USA vs. Sweden and Germany vs. Russia ties


Clip Two: Djokovic and Tipsarevic thank their fans
Novak and Janko lay a Serbian flag in a heart-shaped clay tribute to their Serbian fans after their 4-1 defeat of Australian. Short, but sweet clip.


Clip Three: Israel stuns Chile
Dudi Sela, ranked 105th in the world, knocks out Fernando Gonzalez in the fifth set to give Israel a shocking 3-1, insurmountable lead over Chile.


Clip Four: Pero beats Belarus
Luis Horna does the trick over Max Mirnyi for the Peruvian win.


Clip Five: Szavay is Comeback Queen (of the week) in Beijing
One clip of the ladies! Agnes the Great pulls out a title win in Beijing after being down a set and 1-5. Jelena will be thinking about this one for a while.

And Then the Picks Got Tough...

Sometimes being a blogger is painful. You'll sit there staring at the screen hoping and wishing that something your readers would eat up would just pop into your head. I think that's what the problem is with a lot of literature out there today - none of it is worth our time. And sure, I may write some stuff that is useless to many every now and then, but I promise you that there's always a thought process behind what shows up on the page, or screen for that matter.

This weekend has been a rather blessed one in the world of tennis content. Over the past two weeks I felt like I was dragging my heals along with the rest of the tennis kingdom. The US Open was done and over, and though Lindsay Davenport was making her inspired return in Bali, I felt more like throwing mud on the screen and calling it a post than actually putting up stuff people might enjoy.

With the Davis Cup weekend done and over, I find myself extremely thankful for this Cup that many have come to forget. Perhaps it's because the Americans are in the title match for the first time since 2004, or maybe it's just because good tennis was happening all over the world, not just in one place. Roger Federer was being proved human in Prague while Tim Henman had a true champions farewell at Wimbledon.

While those were just two of many Davis Cup stories, the flurry of news surrounding the weekend gives me the same feeling I had when reading Jon McEnroe's "You Cannot Be Serious" when he spoke about playing for your country and the swelling of pride and competitive drive players felt. And if players are getting this pumped up about doubles, I'm all about making the ATP schedule more conducive for top players to represent their home countries.

Andy Roddick has repeatedly said how important winning a Davis Cup title is to him, and though for a while I thought that was Roddick copping out of talk of him winning another Major, I do understand how much he wants such an honor, especially after he (and the Bryan Bros.) carried the American team on their shoulders this past weekend.

While the global reach of tennis was being flexed by the men, a few new faces popped up on the women's scene this weekend, giving us more evidence that this game can be played people other than the white and the privileged.

Agnes Szavay continued her incredible late-summer/early-fall run on the WTA Tour. Following her appearance in the Pilot Pen final prior to the US Open, Szavay marched her way to the quarterfinals of the final Major of the year before many tennis fans took notice of Hungarian. This week her raw talent was on full display as she marched through the Beijing field, including a set-and-1-5-down comeback against Jelena Jankovic in the final.

Joining Szavay in the win column this week were Maria Kirilenko and Tatiana Golovin, two mid-major youngsters who have proven themselves capable of - but not consistent in - beating Top 20 players. Another virtual unknown, Mariya Koryttseva was Kirilenko's challenger in the finals of Kolkata.

If the entire fall is this interesting, I might turn into a proponent for keeping a year-long schedule...