If you haven’t heard of Indian tennis player Somdev Devvarman, you might want to start taking notice. American Taylor Dent certainly did today as he went down in defeat in three sets during the first round of the Legg Mason Classic in Washington, DC.
Devvarman who just turned pro in June, won the match 7-6 (3), 2-6, 6-1 to advance to the next round. While you might be wondering if Devvarman belongs to the rising group of youngsters currently making noise on the ATP tour, he is in fact already 23 years old and a veteran of College tennis in the United States.
While playing for the University of Virginia, Devvarman amassed am impressive 44-1 record at the College level this past year. He made college tennis history by making it to the NCAA finals three times in a row, and came away a winner on the last two.
Referencing the longer road it took him to reach the pro tour, Devvarman said that he and fellow former College player John Isner have, ‘both done four years in school, we’ve experienced something different…from being a generic pro tennis player.’
‘I’ve had such a great time in college that I wouldn’t trade it in for anything.’
This year Devvarman has also enjoyed much success at the Futures and Challenger level. He won a hard court future and two clay court future’s earlier in the year. He then won the hard court Challenger tournament in Lexington three weeks ago, beating five players inside the top 200 in the world. Devvarman’s ranking at the time – 566. Some of the names he beat en route to the title are familiar in the tennis world; Bobby Reynolds, Andrea Stoppini, Xavier Malisse and Robert Kendrick. Impressive notches in the belt of someone so inexperienced at that level of play.
Although Dent has not had much match play after his two year injury layoff, he still represented a more powerful opponent than the 5’11’, 160lb Devvarman was accustomed to. Dent’s booming serves regularly topped 130mph while Devvarman’s were lucky to crack 115mph. Dent also brought a style of play rarely seen anymore. He is one of the few serve and volley guys left on tour.
Devvarman eventually took advantage of Dent’s lack of match play and waited for the American’s errors to pile up and his fitness level to drop. Dent acknowledged this in an interview we had after the match.
‘For playing me right now, for playing a guy like me who’s just coming back, not fresh, it’s a great strategy cause I’m gonna make a lot of errors and I’m gonna get tired out there.’
‘The adjustments I would have had to make today I just didn’t have the legs to make them…but that’s where it’s tough being a serve and volleyer, you have to move faster.’
All things being equal, Dent did put up a good fight for a guy who is still trying to find his game and his stamina. He plans now to return to Florida and work at the Bollettieri Academy on his legs and his cardio to prepare for a strong 2009 showing. He decided against asking for a wild card into the US Open later this month.
‘Right now just playing three sets out here is pretty taxing on my body and I just need a little more time to get ready for the three out of five sets.’
‘What I’m really aiming for, my big goal is the Australian Open.’
It sounds that while Taylor Dent still needs time for his body to return to form, mentally he has developed a well thought-out plan that we can only hope he can execute.
Rafael Nadal Steamrolls Nicolas Kiefer In Rogers Cup Final
Rafael Nadal easily took the Rogers Cup today leaving many to wonder how long before he also takes Rogers No. 1 ranking. Nadal played his usual high standard of tennis that forced many errors out of surprise finalist Nicolas Kiefer of Germany. The final score was 6-3, 6-2. While fans were no doubt hoping for three tight sets, the reality of the situation is that Nadal finds himself in a class of his own and Kiefer is not the one to challenge that status. Other than Roger Federer or perhaps Novak Djokovic, there is nobody at the moment to give Nadal’s game much opposition.
The match went pretty much according to how it was expected to go. Nadal took two breaks in each set from Kiefer who himself could not convert on a single one. It was at 2-2 in the second set where Kiefer would finally have several attempts at breaking Nadal. The game went back and forth with each player having several advantages. In the end it was Nadal who would prevail and he never looked back from that point on. He would finish with 14 winners to 15 errors, while the more telling stat would be Kiefer with 17 winners and 31 errors. Those errors were often the result of the immense pressure a player of Nadal’s stature would put on his game.
In the second set, with Kiefer serving at 2-3 he hit two double faults in a row to allow Nadal back into the game at 30-30. He then badly mis-hit a ball about thirty feet in the air that eventually landed out. At 30-40 Rafa hit a monster forehand that Kiefer could barely even touch with his racquet to get the break.
Later when Kiefer was serving at 2-5 to stay in the match, Nadal would not budge. Some players might have played a little looser knowing they would be able to then serve it out. Not a champion like Nadal though, he battled as fiercely as ever. At 30-30 Kiefer would bury a routine forehand into the middle of the net. Then needing only one championship point, Nadal would launch another big forehand that Kiefer somehow managed to return with a desperate lob. Nadal had plenty of time to wait for the ball to fall back to earth and crushed it with an overhead to take the match and the championship.
After the match Nadal was his usual low key self when asked for the hundreth time about the potential to takeover the number one ranking.
“I repeat, no? For me No. 2 was very important, and I was very happy be the No. 2. Because with my titles, with my points in a normal situation I, well, would have been No. 1 before.”
Speaking of how tough it is to win a Masters Series event, he replied, “Every tournament is very difficult, no? I won here in Canada in 2005, so win title here is very, very important for me, no? Especially because this year. I didn’t won a tournament yet on hard. Right now I have five titles in a row in three different surfaces, so that’s very, very good for me, no?”
In his on court interview after the match Kiefer praised Nadal as the next number one. A statement that is impossible to argue with at the moment. All eyes will now shift to Cincinnati to see if the torch is ready to be passed.
Roddick Bows Out
The toppling of the big names continued Thursday with American Andy Roddick failing to get to the quarterfinals. Roddick was knocked out by fast rising Croatian giant (he’s 6’6″) Marin Cilic. Cilic may still appear to look awkward being so tall yet only 180lbs, but there was nothing awkward about his punishing forehand. That weapon was hurting Roddick all afternoon. It kept finding the far corner of the court on Roddick’s forehand side and time and time again the American could not return it.
Roddick looked ordinary today, and his forehand in comparison with the younger Croat’s seemed invisible. Roddick spoke about this fact in the post match press conference.
“Forehand is just not doing anything. I’m missing it. That’s the one that I need to click right now.”
When asked about his opponent on this day, Roddick replied, “Well, he definitely isn’t scared to go after the ball. His aggressiveness is what won him that match today. He took it to me a lot more than I took it to him. You know, he serves pretty well. You know, I like – I like how he was aggressive.”
I have to admit that Roddick was pretty forthcoming in the press conference and I appreciated his honesty about the reasons for defeat. He gave his opponent his due.
There was an interesting moment in the final set, with Cilic up a break at 4-3. Roddick was about to serve when a fan in the crowd yelled something. Roddick proceeded to continue with his toss, yet he muttered something to himself in the process. The serve as an ace, yet Roddick told the chair umpire they should play a let because he had spoken. The umpire himself said he was not going to call a let, but Roddick insisted in a show of fair play. His next serve was an ace again, but the umpire overruled the call and said it was out. This infuriated Roddick, as the lines person had not made such a call, and this was on the far side of the court – quite a stretch for the umpire to see. Fortunately Hawk Eye did its job and proved Andy to be correct – the serve was good and he won the point. Throughout the next changeover Roddick argued with the umpire and chastised him for acting in such a manner.
After the match, Roddick had this to say about the incident:
“He responded by overruling the far sideline on a first serve on the next ball, which is just bush league. First of all, it’s an unwritten rule. You’re not supposed to touch that unless you’re – it’s almost impossible to be 100% sure on balls that miss like this (holding thumb and index finger up) on the far side of the court when they’re traveling 130 miles per hour.”
Roddick went on to admit it had no effect on the outcome of the match. Still, he spent a lot of energy dwelling on it.
While Roddick joins Federer on the sidelines now, James Blake did manage to advance to the quarter finals in a tight three set match against Dmitry Tursunov. Blake is now the only American left in the draw, and will meet German veteran Nicolas Kiefer in the semi finals Friday.
As for Roddick, his US Open preparation will have to continue next week in Cincinnati. His doubles partner here in Toronto, Mardy Fish, withdrew due to an injury.
The Rogers Cup Update: Boris Becker Inducted into Rogers Cup Hall of Fame
The weather provided to be less challenging than expected Monday in Toronto which allowed a full schedule of main draw matches to be completed along with the remaining batch of qualifiers as well. The forecast for the rest of the week looks pretty sporadic, so tournament organizers must have been relieved that opening day was a success.
A highlight today for many was the appearance of former world number one and six time Grand Slam champion Boris Becker of Germany. “Boom Boom” was in town to be inducted into the Rogers Cup Hall of Fame. Although he only competed in Canada three times during his illustrious career, he did win the title back in 1986. Becker played in an early evening exhibition match against Canada’s Daniel Nestor.
In his pre-match press conference, Becker spoke of the expectations for the match and in reference to his opponent Nestor he said, “hopefully you’ve briefed him that he’s gentle to me that I’m going to look good tonight.”
When I asked him if we should expect any diving volleys he replied, “No. I’ve done that in the 90’s. This century I haven’t done any diving volleys anymore.”
The match was a light-hearted affair that resulted in a 6-3 victory for Nestor. The Canadian doubles specialist made several rushes to the net, in an obvious attempt to fine-tune his net play for this tournament. Becker still had some pop on his first serves, but his movement was not nearly as quick as it once was and he only came to the net twice the entire set. Still, the crowd was happy to have him back and the tournament honored him with a Toronto Maple Leafs hockey jersey with the number 86 on the back to commemorate his successful title here.
In regular action there were no surprises today, with seeds Fernando Gonzalez, Richard Gasquet, Stan Wawrinka and Tommy Robredo all advancing to the second round. The highlight match of the day for Canadian tennis fans, was the evening match between Frank Dancevic and Mario Ancic. Dancevic played near flawless tennis, and dispatched of the higher-ranked Croat in straight sets 6-4, 6-4. He displayed an all-court game and had several impressive volleys at the net. The crowd was loving it and the Rexall Centre was rocking for the first time this week. Dancevic has recorded some impressive wins over top opponents in the past year such as Andy Roddick and most recently David Nalbandian at Wimbledon. He will have his work cut out for him however tonight as he faces off against number three seed Novak Djokovic.
Doubles action provided some exciting action as well today with both Andy Roddick and Roger Federer delving into the draw with their respective partners. You don’t often catch the top ranked singles guys playing doubles, but as this is the first hard court tournament of the year they are looking for all the preparation they can get. The fact that some of them are also entered in the doubles draw at the Olympics is adding a little incentive as well no doubt. Playing on court number one with limited seating, the bleachers were soon packed to the brim with several other fans trying their best to squeeze in around the outside of the court to catch a glimpse of the stars up close.
It was nice to see doubles receive such a favorable reaction from the spectators today. Part of the problem with doubles I believe is that many of the players are not as well known to the fans. Today clearly proved that if you get the stars of the tour involved, the fans will come watch without hesitation.
Photos by Rod Hanna!
Rogers Cup Qualies Day 1
Just got back from day one of the qualifying draw at the Rogers Cup and it was a great day to be a tennis fan. It has been almost a year now since I’ve been able to catch some live tennis action and it was a nice way to ease back into things and get reacquainted with the game up close. Of course, having a press pass for the first time doesn’t hurt either!
I arrived on site around 9:30am local time and found my way from the parking lot to the actual venue. A short ten minute hike later and I was drenched in sweat on this humid July day but ready to begin my exploring of the site and all that the media access would allow me. Putting on the press pass for the first time was like wearing a badge of honor, and it also elicited a few curious looks from fans trying to figure out who I was and why I was fortunate enough to be wearing such a large pass around my neck. Seriously, this thing is huge!
I caught parts of a few different qualifying matches today, mostly the ones with the more familiar names. There were not a lot of well known players in the qualifying draw and I was somewhat surprised given that this is a Masters Series event. I suppose that due to the compressed schedule, many players that would otherwise be here by now are still in Europe playing in one of the three current tournaments over there. I’d be very impressed if the names, Andrey Golubev, Farrukh Dustov and Alexandre Kudryavtsev ring a bell with any of you out there, because I can honestly say I’ve never heard of them before. And these are some of the round one winners from today!
I checked out one time Grand Slam winner Thomas Johansson who won the Rogers Cup back in 1999. He was taking on local Canadian hope Philip Bester. This match went the distance with Johansson’s experience proving to be too much for the young Bester. Prior to the match I noticed Johansson having an animated discussion with ATP liaison Thomas Schrader about the ranking cutoff used to make the main tournament draw. Johansson is the number one seed in the qualifying draw and I got the impression that he was not impressed to have to go through this pre-tournament process.
I felt bad for players who did not enjoy the privilege of playing on center court today. Just outside the grounds and relatively close to the Grandstand Court and other practice courts was some sort of Reggae festival that had rhythmic music blaring all morning long. A fan on the Grandstand watching Arnaud Clement march to victory against Illia Marchenko stood up between games and yelled at the umpire to, “turn off that damn music and show the players the respect they deserve.” The umpire addressed the crowd after this comment and explained that the neighboring festival was a nuisance that we would all have to put up with.
After leaving that match I moved on to the practice courts. It is always interesting to see who hits with who on the tour. I’m not sure how much thought goes into the practice combinations, but I always enjoy seeing these pairings up close. Mikhail Youzhny was playing a practice set against Paul Henri Mathieu. I was not keeping score, but it seemed to me that Mathieu was getting the best of the Russian on this day. Fortunately still lots of time to work out the kinks. These two were hitting quite hard and the contrast between some of the qualies and these higher ranked pros was obvious.
I noticed another practice court nearby to be packed with fans and it turned out to be recent Wimbledon champ Rafael Nadal was there hitting with Tommy Robredo. After a quick break Nadal took off his shirt and all of the women in the crowd were cheering and whistling right on cue! Nadal did not seem fazed by the attention, however Robredo turned to the crowd and teased them by lifting up his shirt to see what kind of reaction he might get. Everyone got a good laugh out of his light hearted gesture.
The draw ceremony took place promptly at 2pm just outside of Center Court and brought in quite a large gathering of fans and media alike. On hand to help with the draw were Fernando Gonzalez of Chile, and Canadian Frank Dancevic. It was really interesting to see how such a ceremony was conducted and to analyze potential matchups on the spot as they were being announced. They began by placing Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal’s names on opposite ends of the large draw sheet. Then they randomly put the number three and four seeds, Novak Djokovic and Nikolay Davydenko into the draw. I had always thought that the number one and four seeds were together, and two and three ended up on the other side, but that is not the case. Although fortunately for Federer, that is exactly how it worked out and he won’t have to see either Djokovic or Nadal until a potential final encounter.
After this, the 5th through 8th seeds were randomly picked and placed into the appropriate slots that received first round bye’s. I prefer when the top seeds have to play from the get-go, but in recent years in Canada this is how they have operated. After the remaining seeds were placed, they allowed fans to come up on stage to select the rest of the players from a big silver cup one by one. Both players participating in the draw ceremony cringed slightly when they realized what they were up against. Gonzalez didn’t seem to mind drawing Julien Benneteau of France in the first round, but did not seem thrilled when he saw that he was in Federer’s section of the draw with a potential third round matchup looming. Dancevic for his part also looked sullen when the name of Mario Ancic was called for his opening match, with the winner to face Djokovic.
Still there is plenty of time left for the players to adjust their practice routine according to who they will face in a few days. For now, everybody is in the hunt and anything can happen. I will be back with more updates from Toronto in the coming days.
Roland Garros: Top Half Preview
It’s time to preview the top half of the men’s draw, set to play Monday in Paris.
Roger Federer has to be happy with his first three matches thus far. Other than a slight test from Albert Montanes in round two, he has advanced fairly easily and he seems to be gathering steam. He is moving very quickly on court, and conserving energy by not being pushed to five sets thus far. Even better are the opponents he may face this coming week. Julien Benneteau has been playing very well on clay as of late, but will not provide Federer with much of a challenge. He’s quite simply out of his league against the world number one. Federer dispatched Benneteau in straight sets in their only previous encounter last summer on hard courts, 6-3, 6-3.
It appears as though Federer will match up in the quarterfinals against Fernando Gonzalez of Chile, who should take out American Robby Ginepri in the round of sixteen. Apparently Ginepri did not receive the memo that American players are not supposed to reach this stage on the clay in Paris! If Gonzalez does advance, he is 0-4 against Federer on clay.
In the other quarter on Monday, the winner between David Ferrer and Radek Stepanek has a very strong chance of making it on to face Roger in the semis. Normally I’d put my money on Ferrer to make it through a tough clay court match, however he has already been beaten by Stepanek on clay in Italy this year. The winner between the two will play either Ivan Ljubicic, who has certainly over-achieved by taking out No. 4 seed Nikolay Davydenko in a fabulous five-set match on Saturday, or Frenchman Gael Monfils, who also battled back in a five-set win over Jurgen Melzer.
Any way you look at this half of the draw however, and it would be very difficult to bet against Federer to emerge as the last man standing. He should be able to make it through to the final feeling fresh and confident to take on his arch nemesis on clay – Rafael Nadal. It is certainly the dream final we are all hoping for!
French Open Preparation Continues
As we begin the last big tournaments on the men’s and women’s tours this week before the French Open, both Rafael Nadal and Justine Henin appears to have hit a bump in the road as they prepare to defend their Roland Garros titles from a year ago. Nadal was knocked off by unseeded Juan-Carlos Ferrero in the second round in Rome, while Henin was defeated in the third round by upstart Dinara Safina in Berlin. This is certainly not the confidence boost either player was hoping for as we now sit just two weeks away from the biggest clay court tournament of the year. While Nadal gets a shot at redemption this week at the Hamburg Masters, Henin has pulled out of the WTA tournament in Rome. Lets now look at the tournaments coming up this week as the players check to see where their clay court games now stand.
On the men’s side, the Masters Series event in Hamburg should be very interesting considering the recent stumbles of both Federer and Nadal. For Nadal, his early defeat in Rome could have been a sign that the young Spaniard needed a break. I’ll never understand who plans his schedule, but a lesson in time management may be in order. If Nadal does not take the time to recover between tournaments, he is putting his health and future success on the tour in jeopardy. Expect him to bounce back especially with the less than challenging draw he has received.
Returning to Hamburg will hopefully be the jump start Roger Federer has been waiting for in 2008. Still without a Masters Series title to his name this year, Federer missed a great opportunity last week in Rome by falling to Radek “the Worm” Stepanek. He won the Hamburg tournament last year, but came in with a much bigger head of steam. Without a strong showing here, I would say his chances at finally winning Roland Garros are slim indeed. He shouldn’t be challenged until meeting David Ferrer in the quarters. Even then, he has the advantage of being seeded first and not meeting Nadal or Djokovic until the finals.
The rest of the field should produce some great clay court match-ups. I particularly like seeing some heavyweight clay court players face each other in round one, such as Juan Monaco/ Filipo Volandri and Nicolas Alamgro/Jose Acasuso. This tournament usually provides us with some upsets and surprise quarterfinalists, and I would not be shocked if that held true this year. Watch for Marcel Granollers to perhaps make a splash in his section of the draw. Already a winner on clay in Houston, Texas earlier this year, he came through the qualifying section as the top seed and enters with a couple of wins under his belt already at this venue. My semifinal picks, include Davydenko against Federer and then Nadal against Djokovic or Robredo. Djokovic might be tired after a full week of tennis, and Robredo is the only other active player in this draw to have hoisted the trophy before in Hamburg
On the WTA Tour, expect less upsets as the women take to the courts in Rome. Last week’s final of Dinara Safina vs Elena Dementieva was certainly not one I would have predicted, and the top players should get back to business this time around. I wouldn’t count on Safina continuing her impressive form of late, where she knocked off three top 10 players in the world in Berlin. She may be tired, and somewhat less focused after such an improbable and exciting week. She also has the misfortune of having to face a solid player in Victoria Azarenka in round one, and then likely Ana Ivanovic in round three.
Past champions in Rome who are back once again include Jelena Jankovic and the Williams sisters. Noticeably absent from the draw are Amelie Mauresmo who is battling a rib injury and Justin Henin. Without serious match play leading up to her home tournament at Roland Garros, it appears another year will pass with Mauresmo disappointing the French fans. As for Henin, she must feel that a week off will benefit her more as she prepares her title defense. My semifinal picks here in Rome would be Jankovic vs Sharapova, who has an easy path to the final four and on the other side Ivanovic vs Serena Williams who has had quite a year thus far.
If you’re looking for a preview of who to watch at the French Open this year, keep your eyes open for this week’s results. Players on both tours will be looking to hit their stride as the clay court season edges closer to its culmination in Paris.
Time for Roger Federer to Step Up
We are now two months into the 2008 tennis season and who would have thought that by this point Roger Federer would have exactly zero titles to his name? N
ot only has he failed to win a title thus far, but he has not even made it to a final. While I’m not ready to join the growing number of tennis fans who are wondering aloud if Federer may have passed his peak, clearly it is time that he delivered some results to quiet his critics. It needs to start here and now with the Masters tournament in Miami.
To summarize his year to date, Federer has reached two semifinals and had one first round defeat. However, his semifinal appearances have not exactly been attained with his usual level of brilliance. At the Australian Open, he struggled to get past Janko Tipsarevic in the third round. He eventually pulled it out 10-8 in a rare fifth set – rare for Federer that is. Then last week at Indian Wells, Roger made it through three easy opening round opponents, lucked-out with a quarterfinal walkover, and was then trounced 6-3 6-2 by Mardy Fish. The bottom line is that Federer has not had a strong performance yet in 2008. For a player who has dominated the opening months of the year going back to 2004, this is a major issue.
Each of the past four years, Roger Federer has opened the tennis season by dismissing almost every challenge sent his way. In 2004 he had three titles by this point. In 2005, he had four titles. By this point of 2006 he had three titles and one final. And in 2007 he had two titles. The consistency in his game has been incredible, and by starting each season so strongly he has been able to carry that momentum throughout the year. The same cannot be said thus far in 2008, and with only one more hard court tournament before the claycourt season starts, his confidence and aura of invincibility are nowhere to be found.
While some of his lackluster play can be attributed to him coming down with mononucleosis earlier in the year, one has to wonder if that is the only factor. Perhaps other players are finally beginning to figure out what makes him tick. Younger players like Novak Djokovic and Andy Murray are presenting well-rounded and dangerous games that he has not had to face in recent years. Maybe his motivation is starting to wane after so many consecutive years of dominating play. Whatever the reason may be, Federer must make a statement in Miami to show the rest of the tour he is still top dog.
Should Djokovic win this upcoming Miami Masters Series event after his victory in Indian Wells last week, he would be the number one threat on tour, whether the rankings reflect that or not. Suddenly Federer could be viewed as the underdog in their rivalry. Federer needs to have that sense of being unbeatable to continue his push for the Grand Slam record. Many close matches he has had over the years have probably swung his way due to the player across the net realizing who they were playing, and not necessarily how he was playing. How will Federer evolve as a tennis player if he is no longer the number one threat?
I think we will see Federer fight his way to the title in Miami. He needs a confidence boost before switching to the claycourts of Europe and this would be the perfect one. It is time for Federer to display his champion spirit and returned to the winners circle. The alternative would not bode well for him as the tennis season quickly unravels. He does not want to be sitting back watching the Djokovics and Murrays of the tour grab the titles that he has owned for so long. He needs to step up and show them that their time is yet to come.
Roddick Lets Racquet Talk For Him
How long has it been since Andy Roddick’s name was mentioned as a serious challenger to reigning heavyweight tennis champ Roger Federer? With young guns Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic on the scene, Roddick has quietly slipped into the background of men’s tennis as a perennial top ten player who can’t quite compete with today’s versatile, all-court players. And yet looking at Roddick’s record over the past five years, he has been one of the most consistent players on tour, but still there is a lack of respect from media and tennis fans alike that such a record would normally command.
Looking at his Grand Slam record, Andy Roddick hasn’t exactly lit the record books since his professional tennis debut in 2000. The US Open title in 2003 is his lone Grand Slam title. That puts him in the same company as Thomas Johansson, Yevgeny Kafelnikov, Juan Carlos Ferrero, and Goran Ivanisevic. All one hit wonders. I’m not trying to say that Roddick is on par with these players, or that he won’t at some point win another slam. Surely if it were not for Roger Federer, Roddick would own a couple of Wimbledon titles and another US Open as well. How many players has Federer denied reaching greater heights?
Roddick’s record over the past five years grants him the status as one of the best players of his generation. Looking at the following win/loss statistics, it is hard to argue with that statement. His Slam record other than his one win, includes 3 finals, 4 semi finals, and 4 quarter final appearances. He has also qualified in the season ending Masters tournament each year during that span.
2003: 69-16
2004: 63-14
2005: 56-15
2006: 42-15
2007: 46-14
His wins have may have diminished over the years, but he is playing less tournaments than he used to. More importantly, he has had to deal with the growing threat of an emerging group of younger tennis players who have risen to the top of the sport. His steady play has been overshadowed by the recent emergence of Nadal (3 grand slams, age 21) and Djokovic (1 grand slam, age 20). Sometimes, he even gets upstaged by whichever player has had the most recent momentary surge, such as Jo-Wilfred Tsonga at this year’s Australian Open.
This past week in Dubai, Roddick certainly reclaimed the spotlight. Not only did he hold serve the entire tournament, but he also successfully defeated both Nadal and Djokovic which must have felt incredibly satisfying. Both were straight set victories leaving no doubt that Roddick was in control of the match. He had never beaten Djokovic, and had not beaten Nadal since 2004 when Nadal was still a kid. Despite amicably parting ways with coach Jimmy Connors the previous week, he has made it known that he is ready to contend for a Grand Slam again and will be looking to build on these victories at the upcoming Masters Series hard court events in the US. After years of everyone asking what’s wrong with Andy Roddick, it’s nice to pause for a moment and examine what’s right.
Will Sampras Return?
When Pete Sampras defeated Andre Agassi in the finals of the 2002 US Open, the retirement debate began almost immediately. Was Pete going to go out on top or would he continue to try to add to the record-breaking legacy he had created? While that decision took a year to officially sort out, I’ve always wondered if Pete did the right thing. Sure, he had been struggling that last year on tour. His motivation did not seem to be as high. Getting knocked out at Wimbledon in the second round was a major shock to the tennis world. And yet his run during those two weeks at Flushing Meadows certainly showed he still had what it took to continue at a high level. During that time he knocked off his young heir apparent Andy Roddick, and perhaps his greatest rival of all time in Agassi.
But Sampras opted to go out a champion, and nobody could fault him for that. He had a young family to spend time with. His 32 year old body was taking a beating after so many years on the tour, and after tasting success at almost every possible major venue, he felt it was time to call it a career. Many wondered if Sampras would be content in retirement. At the time, I would not have been surprised if a year or two later he decided to come back while he was still young enough to compete at a high level. Maybe he could have put away another Wimbledon or two before Roger Federer truly hit his peak. Instead, no one heard a whisper from Sampras. He kept to himself while spending time with his family and practicing his game on the golf course, not the tennis court.
Almost four years would pass before the world would see Pistol Pete on a tennis court again. It started very simply, with an exhibition match against young American Robby Ginepri on April 6, 2006. Sampras could have decided to take on a fellow retiree such as Jim Courier or John McEnroe. Instead, he chose to test himself against a current professional. An interesting choice no doubt. While Ginepri would take the exhibition 6-3, 7-6, Sampras must have been content with his showing after such a long layoff and against a much younger opponent.
Talk turned quite quickly to the prospect of a Sampras/Federer clash of the ages. While that would not materialize for some time, Sampras did try his hand at World Team Tennis and some events on the Outback Champions Series, a senior level tour. Many remarked that Sampras still had some serious skills on the court; John McEnroe even stated he felt Sampras could be a top five threat on the lawns of Wimbledon.
Fast forward to the fall of 2007. Talk of a Sampras/Federer exhibition matchup came to fruition with a three match tour of Asia. Sampras had been practicing quite heavily leading up to the encounters, and although Federer was coming off the Tennis Masters Cup and a long season of tennis on top of that, he was still the clear overwhelming favourite. Federer also does not strike me as the type of competitor who simply goes through the motions just to entertain the crowd. I have no doubt that he was eager to show his was able to defeat Sampras, whose Grand Slam titles record he is trying to catch.
All three matches were quite close. Federer took the opening encounter 6-4, 6-3 in Seoul, Korea. Two days later the score was even closer; Federer again won in staight sets 7-6, 7-6. The last match of the series was the most remarkable, with Sampras actually winning in two straight sets, 7-6, 6-4. Clearly his serve and volley game was something that gave Federer somewhat of a challenge. The fact that a 36 year old Pete Sampras was even able to make these matches close against the 26 year old Roger Federer was incredible. Sampras must have left the Orient feeling pretty happy with his accomplishments. Might he also have been wondering about how he would fare against some of the other top ATP players of today? Part of him had to have, at least for a fleeting moment, considered how he might hold up against today’s players in a real tournament scenario.
Here we are now at the start of the 2008 season. Instead of taking a break from his recent exhibition revival, Sampras is scheduled to play Tommy Haas (who replaces an injured Marat Safin) at next week’s SAP Open in San Jose. Again testing himself against a current player, I must wonder what Sampras hopes to achieve with this or future matches against today’s players. Is he trying to see if he can defeat another one of today’s big names? Trying to see whether his encounter with Federer at the end of a long season was just a fluke?
Another exhibition match against Federer looms in March at Madision Square Gardens in New York City. This is good opportunity for Sampras to take on the current number one on his home soil. But then where does he go from there? Why is he continuing to play against today’s players and not his contemporaries who still dabble in the sport on the senior tour?
The only realistic and reasonable answer in my opnion is that Sampras is systematically gearing himself up for a return to the ATP tour. Not a full return, and perhaps not even a limited schedule, but certainly he is trying to gauge his response to today’s challengers. The thought has to have been planted in his head, and further nourished by his recent success against Federer. Despite his repeated denials, I would not be the least bit surprised if Sampras asked for, and was granted, a wild card at the Queen’s Club tournament in June in order to prepare for his ultimate goal, a return to the All-England club at Wimbledon. While he may be in too deep against a Federer or Djokovic, he could still give just about anyone else a good run for their money on his favourite surface. Keeping his age and fitness level in mind, he would have to try to limit his matches to three or four sets and avoid a long, drawn out five-setter. But with his booming serve still in order and his net game tuned up, I’m sure he would still be able to make it to the last sixteen.
Something more than just a desire to stay fit and have fun with today’s crop of players is at work here. While Sampras has given no official word that would indicate this is what he has in mind, don’t be surprised if we see Pistol Pete one more time on Centre Court at Wimbledon this summer. Tennis fans of all ages and backgrounds would certainly be in for a treat if this were to happen.