Celebrating The 20th Anniversary Of Andre Agassi's 1994
US Open
Title Win
(By James Buddell, ATP Tennis, 09 April 2014)
Fresh off a
four-hour flight from Las Vegas to Santa Barbara, Andre Agassi is
seated in the clinic of Dr. Richard Scheinberg contemplating the end of his
career. Gil Reyes, his trainer, is pensive too. “I still remember the day,” says
Agassi. “20th December 1993.” Seven years into his pro career,
23-year-old Agassi has played a tour event Down Under twice. The goal of
competing at the Australian
Open for the first time, the following month, is over for another season.
This time, it’s tendinitis in his right wrist. “I thought my injury could be career
threatening,” says Agassi. Reyes keeps his thoughts to himself at the
Santa Barbara Cottage Hospital. “Privately, I was worried. Would he
resume his career? It was 50/50, yes or no. Everything was done to avoid
it, but he realised he had to give in to it. After he had won Wimbledon
[in 1992], Andre realised it was mentally time to step up. But physically
the wear and tear of hitting thousands of tennis balls was damaging the wrist.”
Surgery is
his only option. Dr. Scheinberg, an orthopedic surgeon, rebuilt
38-year-old Jimmy
Connors’ left wrist three years earlier. Now it’s Agassi’s turn. The 75-minute operation reveals greater
problems. A mass of scar tissue is removed and “structural changes to the
sheath that encases the tendons were made”, says Agassi. The injury has
affected Agassi’s trademark shot — his forehand, which he executes by swinging
his body to disguise the direction — over the past six months. “Then, there were concerns of whether
he would be able to return,” says Reyes. “Whether he would struggle and
come through the physical therapy.” Unable to hit balls, Agassi dedicates
himself to get super fit. “Nothing really happens, then, once you are
healthy you improve on a daily basis,” says Agassi.
The test
came at Scottsdale, two months later. Agassi would confess in his 2009
autobiography, OPEN, that, at the time, “I have a recurring nightmare
about being in the middle of a match and my hand falling off.” Reyes
remembers, “I was scared for him. We did everything to get him
back. Although he won the title, it startled us into the realisation that
he might never be the same. “We became
students of the game and tried to figure out remedies. He built up his strength
and that year weighed in at 175lbs. He taught me what he needed on
court. It was not about jogging around a track, but that tennis was a
sport of stops and starts. He taught me that the first three steps are
the most important. “Then, the switches
started flipping on.” Enter Brad Gilbert.
At Café Porte Chervo, Gilbert has ordered
pasta, chicken and mozzarella cheese. Yet he is talking “meat and
potatoes.” Agassi and his agent, Perry
Rogers, listen intently at a table of the Italian restaurant on Fisher Island,
near Miami Beach. “Andre destroyed me
[6-1, 6-2] in the Scottsdale quarter-finals,” remembers Gilbert, who won four
of his eight matches against Agassi. “Now, I was breaking down his game
[and] telling him where he was going wrong.
I tried to get Andre to think about ‘meat and potatoes’, the
basics. He always tried to beat opponents 1 & 0 and 1 & 1, but if
he didn’t he would be upset. His pursuit of perfection was all
consuming. I told him it was all right to win 6-4, 6-4. He respected my honesty.” For Agassi, the meeting in March 1994 was a
major turning point. “When I started to
work with Brad in Key Biscayne, I started on a learning curve,” recalls
Agassi. “He made me think for myself. I had had hard losses, but I
needed to remember how to win [and] win those close matches. There were
matches when I converted one of 14 break points and lost 7-5, 7-6, when I
should have won 6-2, 6-3. Looking back,
some of my best wins came when I was in third gear. I realised that I
didn’t have to play better than I had to. If you meet your opponent where
you are, you can be a half click ahead and you will beat them. Like a Boa
constrictor, you squeeze them when they breathe out.”
Twenty years
on, Gilbert reveals, “My wife always said that when she watched me play I
always ground out wins. But watching Andre play was easy. It was
too difficult for him not to perform well week-in, week-out. I helped him
to be simple. His skill level was so much more than mine. I felt he
could attack his opponents. At the time he did not think a lot about
tactics and strategy. He would try to crush you. What amazed me was he had a 100 per cent
total recall of points he had made. More than any player I have ever
met. He challenged me. It amazed me, as he recalled every point and
shot. Once I knew that, I knew he could apply himself to the sport and
improve.” Reyes recalls, “The impact
Brad had was amazing. He knew his role and knew it so well. Brad
was not trying to get Andre to play his tennis. Brad instilled hard work,
insisting, ‘We want road blocks in our way.’”
Four weeks
prior to the US Open,
memories of surgery had vanished. In an ESPN interview with Vitas Gerulaitis,
Agassi was buzzing. “I really want to get my feet moving. I want to
have that enthusiasm that enables me to play my best tennis. I also want
to execute my shots and for a year now, I don’t feel that guys have been on
their heels when I wind up for my forehand and baseline shots. I want to
start punishing the ball and make them feel some pressure.” Agassi and Gilbert both cite a third-round
victory over David
Wheaton at the 1994 Players LTD. International Canadian Open in Toronto, as
a pivotal match. By saving two match points in a dramatic third-set
tie-break, it transformed his fortunes. Gilbert recalls, “When you look
back, you pick out key matches in your career and this win was pivotal for
Andre. Afterwards I told him, ‘Good things are coming. You found a
way to win and you’re still in the draw. You gave yourself an opponent
for tomorrow.’ There was a time, when he would have lost and simply left
the tournament, thinking nothing more of it.”
“With Brad I
really started to learn how to contain my game, although stubbornly,” says
Agassi. “Winning a close match, as I did in Toronto, relieves pressure.
If I ran into a tough situation again, I knew I could execute. “Getting
through the match, I realised that I did not have to stress, as I had so much
to offer. It gave me a feeling of a sense of confidence. It helped
me to trust myself. I started to understand what Brad meant. “Clarity on
court is so important as a tennis player.”
Agassi went on to lift the trophy, the 21st of his career. It is
his first title with Gilbert, just four weeks before the start of THE
OPEN. Coming out of Toronto, Agassi was ready. “Andre was never over confident,” says
Reyes. “But he was ready. Ready for that moment, the surgery had
been harnessed.”
It’s Labor Day — 5 September 1994. His performance timeline at the US Open reads:
1986-first round; 1987-first round; 1988-semi-finals; 1989-semi-finals;
1990-finalist; 1991-first round; 1992-quarter-finals; 1993-first round.
Unseeded at Flushing Meadows for the first time since 1987, Agassi has
worked his way into the draw by casting aside Robert Eriksson,
Guy Forget
and Wayne
Ferreira. New Yorkers have turned out in force for a marquee fourth
round match-up on Louis Armstrong Stadium. Agassi versus Michael Chang,
an all-American clash broadcast nationally on CBS. “I was worried about Chang in the round of
16, because he had a knack of playing great when he wanted it,” remembers
Agassi. “If he didn’t, his level would drop off.” Today, in the mid-afternoon sun, Chang is
driven. Andre is all smiles, killing the ball. Chang is punching
holes in his opponent’s game. They are both in it for the long
haul. The pair’s ninth meeting (Agassi 5-3) goes the distance. At 1-1, 0/30, in the decider, Chang is in
trouble. Agassi senses blood.
Chang slices
a serve out wide to Agassi’s forehand, which is struck back mid-court.
Chang hits a forehand into space, into the corner, which Agassi scrambles back
four feet behind the baseline. Chang’s half volley is spinning into the
deuce-side doubles alley. Agassi anticipates well, bending down to fire a
forehand around the net post to win the point for 0/40. In the next game,
Agassi is serving at 40/30 for a 3-1 lead. It’s Chang’s turn to run into
the deuce alley. This time, Agassi’s wrists are firm and he blocks a
volley. It’s the shot that breaks the camel’s back. Chang’s
resistance ends. Agassi, who had a 6-11
record in fifth sets coming into the match, immediately realises the enormity
of the 6-1, 6-7(3), 6-3, 3-6, 6-1 victory. Post-match, Agassi commented,
“This is the best I have ever hit the tennis ball, absolutely. This is
the culmination of a lot of things. I've hit the ball pretty good before,
but it wasn't balanced with that competitive spirit, that focused
concentration.”
There had
been enormous pressure coming into the Open. Says Reyes, “Doing well at the US Open
always mattered so much to Andre. He wanted it to go well. It was
not a pressure you hate. It was the pressure you feel when you love
something so much. The kind of pressure you feel when your family comes
over. You want everything to go well. He always used to say he
wanted ‘people to be glad when they come to see me play’. That pressure
is a pleasure.” But, as Gilbert recalls,
“The Chang win was the determining factor of the event. It was a tough
match. Andre played very well and fed off the crowd. After that we
had a good feeling about the tournament.”
Agassi went on to win a ‘grudge’ match against Thomas Muster —
avenging his five-set loss in the Roland
Garros second round, four months earlier — and overcame his pre-match
jitters to beat Todd
Martin in four sets in the semi-finals. Agassi admits, “I knew I
could take care of Muster, but Todd was a little scary as he could take his
game to another level. By the semi-finals, I knew I had a chance as I
could see Stich and Karel Novacek
in the other half.”
Less than 24
hours after beating Martin, on 11 September, Agassi walked out onto court to
face Michael
Stich in front of 21,063 fans. Frank Shields,
the grandfather of Agassi’s then girlfriend, Brooke Shields, who watched from
the players’ box, had been the first unseeded player to reach the US
Championships final in 1930. Gilbert,
sporting a black cap and denim jacket, was quietly confident. He could not see how Stich could win. “This
is not possible,” says Gilbert. “I had beaten Stich in 1992 [in five
sets], so I could not see that there was any chance that Andre could lose.
Stich was a great opponent. The key was not to game plan for three
sets, Andre just needed to go out and win.
He did not have any nerves. He was ready for the journey and tried not
think what round he was. Andre executed the game plan to win [6-1,
7-6(5), 7-5].” He had become the first
unseeded champion since Fred Stolle in
1966 and the first titlist in the US Open
history to beat five seeds.
Reunited in
the locker room, Agassi and Gilbert both realised it was time to take his game
to another level. Says Gilbert, “The title was something to savour.
You can get too satisfied, but we both realised more was to come.” The
following day, Agassi returned to the Top 10 for the first time in 18 months —
at No. 9 in the IBM ATP Tour Rankings [now named Emirates ATP Rankings].
Agassi remembers, “I never thought about the short period between my
wrist surgery and winning the US Open
title. I just remember that I immediately got to work, unbelievably hard, with
Gil for the European swing.” The journey continued.
ATP Best Grand Slam Matches Of 2013
(By ATP Staff, 23 November 2013)
Tommy Haas needed four hours and 37 minutes and a Grand Slam record 13 match points to thwart a stern challenge from John Isner in the third round at Roland Garros. The Bullring was electric as Isner steadily began plotting a comeback from down two sets to none, seeking his second such win in three days. The American was sensationally clutch in the big moments, aggressively attacking Haas’s serve to deny match point after match point. He also turned in an impressive serving display of his own, firing 27 aces and 92 winners while powering through 20 of 23 break points faced.
Despite being down a break in the deciding set, following a marathon tie-break won by Isner 12-10, Haas remained calm and staved off the hard-charging 19th seed. A Roland Garros remembered for its inspirational performances from its elder statesmen, from Tommy Robredo reaching the quarter-finals after three consecutive comebacks to David Ferrer advancing to his first Grand Slam final, the 35 year old Haas demonstrated incredible fortitude and stamina. The German would save a match point of his own and, as Isner’s body began to succumb to the rigours of over nine combined hours on court in consecutive matches, Haas made the deciding breakthrough in the 17th game of the fifth set. Haas would improve to 21-20 in five-setters in his career and it would be Isner’s fifth straight five-set defeat at a Grand Slam. It was the second match of the year to feature a victory on a 13th match point, after Tomas Berdych and Lukas Rosol defeated Stanislas Wawrinka and Marco Chiudinelli 24-22 in a fifth set in the first round of Davis Cup World Group action.
Even more remarkably, Haas would show no ill-effects of his marathon battle with Isner in the fourth round, proceeding to rout Mikhail Youzhny 6-1, 6-1, 6-3 to advance to his first quarter-final at Roland Garros in his 12th appearance. “It's crazy,” said a relieved Haas. “It was a big roller coaster with not many thoughts in between. He had match point at 4-5, and somehow I saved that one. It went back and forth. It's definitely going to be one of the best matches to look back on, for sure.” Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal met for an Open Era record 37th time as they squared off for the US Open crown. Djokovic entered Arthur Ashe Stadium on a chilly Monday evening with a point to prove, having dropped five of the previous six meetings with his Spanish rival. Nadal had claimed their two most recent encounters by the slimmest of margins, defeating Djokovic 9-7 in a fifth set at Roland Garros earlier in the year, and ousting the Serb in a third set tie-break in the Coupe Rogers semi-finals.
Despite holding the hard court advantage, Djokovic struggled to penetrate Nadal’s defenses and found himself behind from the onset, with the Mallorca native breaking in the third game of the opening set. Djokovic was unable to sustain the momentum from stealing the second set and securing an early break in the third as Nadal rose to the occasion, rediscovering the recipe to his success from the first set. He would continue to frustrate Djokovic with great depth on his returns, opening the court with his kicking forehand and discovering sensational angles. After failing to convert on a trio of break points at 0/40 in the ninth game of the third set, the match began to unravel rapidly for the Belgrade native. Nadal would claim eight of the next nine games for the victory in three hours and 21 minutes.
Nadal had missed last year’s US Open due to a knee injury and called it “very, very emotional” to return and win the title. “Probably only my team knows how much [today’s match] means for me,” he said during the trophy presentation. “Playing against Novak always is a very special feeling. Probably nobody brings my game to that limit like Novak did.” Djokovic remained atop the Emirates ATP Rankings despite the defeat, but his hold on the World No. 1 mantle loosened considerably, and it would only be a matter of time before Nadal usurped his throne. Nadal celebrated his 13th major crown with the victory, and second in Flushing Meadows, extending his winning streak on hard courts in 2013 to 22 straight.
Novak Djokovic and Stanislas Wawrinka opened the 2013 Grand Slam season with one for the ages. An intense, high-octane battle from first ball to match point, Wawrinka’s breakout performance would prove to be a harbinger of a career year to follow. This duel Down Under had the makings of a one-way affair on paper. Djokovic had won the previous 10 FedEx ATP Head2Head encounters, dating back to 2007, and only relinquished one hard court set during the streak. Astoundingly, Wawrinka had dropped 18 of his previous 19 meetings against Top 5 opposition. From the onset it was evident that the Swiss was out to reverse the trend.
Wawrinka sprinted to a resounding early advantage, exhibiting a master class display to stun Djokovic for a 6-1, 5-2 lead. The Lausanne native was outplaying Djokovic at his own game, turning in an inspired defensive performance that left the World No. 1 off balance and out of his comfort zone. Wawrinka ruled the backhand-to-backhand exchanges, breaking down Djokovic’s world class shot and pulling the trigger early and often for winners. Djokovic found himself broken five consecutive times through the early stages of the second set, striking just one forehand winner in the first 12 games.
The turning point of the match came when Wawrinka misfired on four straight first serves while serving for the set at 6-1, 5-3 30/0. Djokovic would reel off five games in a row, snatching the second set and eventually the third. Wawrinka impressively maintained his high level of play and remained focused as Djokovic raised his game. The Swiss punctuated the fourth set with a forehand down the line after an outrageous rally. The intensity would carry into the fifth set as Wawrinka broke to open the decider. The World No. 17’s aggressive approach would crumble late, however, converting on just one of eight break points in the final set. Djokovic would break back and they would remain on serve until 11-10 when the Serb capped a 20-shot rally with a backhand pass on his third match point.
This wasn’t a match you merely witnessed. It was a visceral, tangible experience of seismic proportions. “I think it's by far my best match I ever played, especially in five sets against the No. 1 player,” declared Wawrinka. “These are the matches that you live for, you practise for,” Djokovic said. “You want to be on the centre court and playing on such a high level for five hours. It's incredible.” While the five-hour battle proved to be a minor obstacle in Djokovic’s quest to three-peat Down Under, it undoubtedly gave Wawrinka the confidence to compete against the game’s elite and take the next step in 2013. Another thrilling five-setter in the US Open semi-finals would solidify the newfound rivalry as one of the greatest of the year.
2. Novak Djokovic d. Juan Martin del Potro 7-5, 4-6, 7-6(2), 6-7(6), 6-3, Wimbledon Semi-finals
The longest Wimbledon semi-final in history featured a mammoth slugfest between Novak Djokovic and Juan Martin del Potro. The Big Four had dominated the Grand Slams for nearly the past four years and the Argentine was ready to break up the elite quartet. Having twisted his left ankle and hyper-extended his left knee in a third round victory over Grega Zemlja, a hobbled del Potro entered Centre Court with a point to prove in his first major semi-final since claiming the US Open title in 2009. The Tower of Tandil had struggled to make a splash at the Grand Slam level since undergoing season-ending wrist surgery three years ago, but on this day, after nearly five hours of pulsating tennis, he made a booming statement on the game’s grandest stage.
An encore of their thrilling Indian Wells semi-final from earlier in the year, won by del Potro, one of the more riveting rivalries of 2013 was kicked into high gear at the All England Club. While del Potro was seeking to become just the second Argentine finalist at Wimbledon (Nalbandian 2002), Djokovic was looking to avenge a straight-sets defeat on the same court as their bronze medal match from last year’s Summer Olympics. Djokovic seemed to be firmly in control after capturing the third set tie-break and snatching an early break in the fourth. The fourth set was a majestic display of tennis, with each scorching del Potro forehand nearly leaving burn marks on the Centre Court grass and Djokovic defensive stabs that would have made an acrobat proud.
A scintillating shotmaking display would key a comeback by the Argentine, who valiantly broke back and forced another tie-break. Del Potro masterfully took charge of rallies in crucial moments, dictating with authority and effectively utilising his backhand down the line, as he did in their duel in the desert in Indian Wells. The Argentine summoned every last ounce of energy to deny Djokovic a pair of match points in the tie-break, defiantly obliterating forehands and diving for winners. He would reel off four consecutive points from down 4-6 to level the match at two sets apiece and bring the SW19 faithful to their feet.
As del Potro’s energy level began to dip in the deciding set, however, Djokovic’s demeanor remained unchanged. As Stanislas Wawrinka experienced at the Australian Open, outlasting the Serb in a best-of-five setting requires Herculean stamina and fortitude, which del Potro struggled to attain. Djokovic would break for a 5-3 lead, eventually prevailing in four hours and 37 minutes. “It was one of the best matches that I've been a part of, one of the most exciting definitely,” said Djokovic, who hit 80 winners, including 22 aces. “I'm privileged to be a winner of this match. It was so close, they couldn't separate us. Every time he was in tough situations he came up with unbelievable shots. But that's why he's a Grand Slam champion and right at the top.
1. Rafael Nadal d. Novak Djokovic 6-4, 3-6, 6-1, 6-7(3), 9-7 Roland Garros Semi-finals
What would become a pivotal match in the race for the year-end World No. 1 throne in the Emirates ATP Rankings, Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal entered Court Philippe Chatrier for their highly anticipated semi-final duel at Roland Garros. One of the more immaculate days of the tournament, at 27°C (80.3° Fahrenheit), the sunlight sliced through the terre battue as the Serb and the Spaniard traded blows for four hours and 37 minutes. History, legacy and revenge hung in the balance as the pair would write one of the greatest chapters of their storied rivalry, culminating in a drama-laden fifth set filled with pulsating rallies and sublime shotmaking.
Both players were battling for a shot at history, with Djokovic seeking to capture the Grand Slam trophy that has eluded him for so long and Nadal eyeing a record eighth Roland Garros crown. With a title, Djokovic would have become just the eighth man in history to complete the career Grand Slam, but Nadal had other ideas with revenge fresh on his mind. The then World No. 1 had dismissed Nadal in straight sets in the final of the Monte-Carlo Rolex Masters seven weeks prior, denying the Mallorca native a ninth consecutive title there.The Spaniard was two points from victory when he led 6-5, 30/15 in the fourth set, but he tightened up and Djokovic fought back into contention. The most crucial moment of the match, and perhaps the year, came with Djokovic serving up 4-3 in the deciding set. After saving a break point at 30/40, the Serb lost his balance on a routine smash, falling into the net and thus forfeiting the point. Nadal would secure the break three points later and the entire complexion of the match would shift thereafter, with Djokovic failing to make any inroads in Nadal’s service games before eventually succumbing 9-7. “You need to love the game,” Nadal exclaimed after the match. “You [need to] appreciate what you are doing in every moment. These kinds of matches are very special. You don’t get to have the chance to play them every day.”
A year after defeating Djokovic in the 2012 final, the Spaniard would win his 22nd consecutive match and fourth successive title of the year against countryman David Ferrer in the final. It was just the second five-setter Nadal had encountered at Roland Garros, with the first being a first-round win over John Isner in 2011. “I congratulate my opponent, because he showed the courage in the right moments and went for his shots,” said Djokovic. “When he was a break down in the fifth, he made some incredible shots from the baseline. I congratulate him, because that's why he's a champion.”
Djokovic To Finish No. 1 In ATP Rankings For Second Straight Season
(ATP website, www.ATPWorldTour.com )
Novak Djokovic has clinched the year-end No. 1 South African Airways ATP Ranking, becoming the first player to accomplish the feat in consecutive seasons since Roger Federer achieved four straight World No. 1 finishes from 2004-07. Djokovic, who lost the World No. 1 ranking to the Swiss on 9 July following a 53-week reign, will reclaim the top spot on 5 November when Federer drops his points from his 2011 title wins at the Swiss Indoors Basel, BNP Paribas Masters and Barclays ATP World Tour Finals. Federer will then not be able to earn enough South African Airways ATP Rankings points to finish the year ahead of Djokovic.
Last year, Djokovic became the first Serbian man to finish World No. 1 in the history of the South African Airways ATP Rankings (since 1973) with a 10-title effort, including three Grand Slam crowns. He first ascended to World No. 1 on 4 July, 2011, following his Wimbledon triumph. Only 16 different players have managed to finish year-end No. 1 in the 40-year history of the South African Airways ATP Rankings.
Djokovic has enjoyed another stellar season in 2012, opening his campaign with the successful defence of his title at the Australian Open. He has compiled a circuit-best 70-11 match record going into this week’s BNP Paribas Masters, where he will be looking to reach his seventh ATP World Tour Masters 1000 final of the season and add to his titles at the Sony Open Tennis in Miami, Rogers Cup in Toronto and Shanghai Rolex Masters. Djokovic also lifted the China Open trophy in Beijing and was a finalist at Roland Garros and the US Open. The 25-year-old Serbian will be officially crowned as the year-end World No. 1 during a trophy presentation at the season-ending Barclays ATP World Tour Finals next week at The O2 in London. Djokovic will be competing at the prestigious season finale for a sixth straight year, and will be bidding to win the trophy for the second time following his victory in 2008.
ATP WORLD TOUR YEAR-END NO. 1
Year Player
2012 Novak Djokovic (Serbia)
2011 Novak Djokovic (Serbia)
2010 Rafael Nadal (Spain)
2009 Roger Federer (Switzerland)
2008 Rafael Nadal (Spain)
2007 Roger Federer (Switzerland)
2006 Roger Federer (Switzerland)
2005 Roger Federer (Switzerland)
2004 Roger Federer (Switzerland)
2003 Andy Roddick (U.S.)
2002 Lleyton Hewitt (Australia)
2001 Lleyton Hewitt (Australia)
2000 Gustavo Kuerten (Brazil)
1999 Andre Agassi (U.S.)
1998 Pete Sampras (U.S.)
1997 Pete Sampras (U.S.)
1996 Pete Sampras (U.S.)
1995 Pete Sampras (U.S.)
1994 Pete Sampras (U.S.)
1993 Pete Sampras (U.S.)
1992 Jim Courier (U.S.)
1991 Stefan Edberg (Sweden)
1990 Stefan Edberg (Sweden)
1989 Ivan Lendl (Czech Republic)
1988 Mats Wilander (Sweden)
1987 Ivan Lendl (Czech Republic)
1986 Ivan Lendl (Czech Republic)
1985 Ivan Lendl (Czech Republic)
1984 John McEnroe (U.S.)
1983 John McEnroe (U.S.)
1982 John McEnroe (U.S.)
1981 John McEnroe (U.S.)
1980 Bjorn Borg (Sweden)
1979 Bjorn Borg (Sweden)
1978 Jimmy Connors (U.S.)
1977 Jimmy Connors (U.S.)
1976 Jimmy Connors (U.S.)
1975 Jimmy Connors (U.S.)
1974 Jimmy Connors (U.S.)
1973 Ilie Nastase (Romania)
TV Coverage Of Tennis
Shouldn't Be A Set Point
(Tennis.com website)
As the U.S. Open
tennis championships approach Monday, everybody has a theory about tennis'
problems reaching a TV audience. CBS Sports/USA Network analyst John McEnroe has one solution. He says networks should stop covering tennis
like Jimmy Connors and Bjorn Borg are still out there in short-shorts and start
using the technologies and intimate camera angles the NFL, NASCAR and others
allow on telecasts of their events. If
the U.S. Tennis Association is really serious about attracting viewers, why not
televise the singles finals in prime time on Sunday or Monday night rather than
Saturday night and Sunday afternoon, he asks — even if it means going up
against NFL regular-season games. "It's
amazing to me how little has changed in tennis. The big innovation is a blue
court. That's a major change in our sport? That's like putting a Band-Aid on
something," McEnroe said during a conference call Thursday. "That is all well and good for a couple
minutes to talk about, but I think we should be trying different things. We
should reach out to people to try to go after the fans the way other sports do.
Because we can't just depend on the fact that it is a great game."
Tracy Austin, lead women's analyst for
USA Network, suggested the USTA adopt "electronic line calling"
enabling fans to really see if a shot was in or out. If she had her way, Austin USA
Faced with growing
sports competition, tennis' TV ratings are an increasing concern. The Open's
overall TV ratings on CBS dropped to 1.8 last year from 1.9 in 2003 and 3.1 in
'02. But USTA boss Arlen Kantarian's
decision to create the US Open Series last year- featuring men's and women's
finals televised back-to-back on Sundays in the weeks leading to the Open- is
helping to build a buzz around tennis again. Overall viewership for nearly 100
hours of national US Open Series coverage on network and cable is up nearly 5%
from 2004, according to Widmaier. CBS’s
Bob Mansbach vehemently
disagrees with McEnroe's assertion that tennis coverage is stuck in neutral. "Toys are nice," he says. "But
at some point it comes down to who's on the court and what kind of tennis they
are playing."
Tennis Adds Replay And Electronic
Calls
(By Liz Clarke,
Washington Post)
On-court tantrums
soon may become a thing of the past in professional tennis with the
introduction of electronic line-calling and the opportunity for players to demand
a video review of suspect calls. Today,
officials from the U.S. Tennis Association will join representatives of the
men's and women's pro tours to announce that a version of instant replay --
relying on the Hawk-Eye brand of technology and a limited number of player
challenges -- will debut later this month at the Nasdaq-100 in Key Biscayne,
Fla., an annual hard-court tournament that draws the top male and female
players. The replay system will also be used at this year's U.S. Open and at
most of the major North American hard-court tournaments this season, including
Washington's Legg Mason Tennis Classic, July 29-Aug. 6. "It's a major breakthrough," said
former Davis Cup captain and tournament co-founder Donald Dell. "It's
going to jazz up the game and make for an excitement you don't otherwise
have."
The technology to
make line calls electronically has existed for years and is routinely employed
for conversational purposes during ESPN broadcasts, in which analysts refer to
it as "Shot Spot." But to date, many tournament officials and players
had objected to its use as an officiating aid. Tournament officials worried it
might slow matches too much and detract from spectators' enjoyment. They also wanted assurance it would be
reasonably affordable, given that tournament organizers would be responsible
for installing video-replay boards at their center courts so players and fans
could view Hawk-Eye's ruling in disputed calls.
Players were worried that the technology wouldn't be reliable. Moreover,
some favored a system of unlimited challenges, while others argued that players
should have only a limited number of challenges to prevent competitors from
using replay to stall a match. But USTA
officials were determined to develop a workable system after a 2004 U.S. Open
quarterfinal between Jennifer Capriati and Serena Williams was marred by three
bad calls -- one particularly egregious -- all of which went against Williams,
who lost in three sets.
The USTA formed a
task force to tackle the issue, drawing on representatives of the Association
of Tennis Professionals, Women's Tennis Association, International Tennis
Federation, major broadcasters and former players. The upshot was the system
that will debut at the Nasdaq-100 on March 22, which Arlen Kantarian, USTA
chief executive, calls the biggest revolution to tennis since tiebreaks were
introduced -- one that would heighten the game's entertainment value and give
players a welcome measure of confidence.
"With the speed and power of today's game, and with 150 mile per
hour serves and 100 mile-per-hour backhands, we need an officiating aid,"
Kantarian said. Under the replay system,
each player starts with two challenges per set. If he challenges a call and is
proven wrong by Hawk-Eye, he loses a challenge and has only one left for the
set. If he is vindicated by Hawk-Eye, he keeps his two challenges so, in
theory, players have unlimited challenges as long as Hawk-Eye proves each
challenge correct. In addition, players receive an additional challenge if a
set goes to a tiebreaker. The system
drew raves from former pro Jim Courier, who was the first to use it during a
trial run at a Champions' event in London last December. "It was very efficient; very
effective," said Courier, 35. "The peace of mind it gives players is
incredible, just knowing you're not going to lose a point because of a bad line
call."
The U.S. Open
will be the only Grand Slam event to use the replay system this year. The
Australian Open is expected to adopt it for 2007. There is no need for replay
at the French Open because its clay courts serve as a built-in review system.
Tennis balls leave a mark wherever they land on clay, and players have long
pointed to the tell-tale marks in disputing calls. There are no plans to use replay at
Wimbledon, where officials of the All England club take a notoriously measured
approach in changing anything about the game. Courier, for one, hopes the club
will be open to the idea. "They're
the crown jewel of tennis," he said. "It's very important that tennis
show a united front. If this gets a good run though the Nasdaq and U.S. Open,
then there should be peace of mind within the All England club and their stance
might change."
Top 10 Records And Achievements Of
The Decade
(By ATP Staff, ATP
website, December 14, 2009)
Roger Federer has won a record-breaking 15 Grand Slam
titles, including six Wimbledon crowns.
What are the 10
greatest records and achievements during the past decade? Check out our picks
and see why Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal dominate the list.
1. Roger Federer’s dominance at Grand Slam level was the
most significant achievement of the first decade of the new century. During the
decade Federer became the only player in history to win five straight titles at
two Grand Slam tournaments, dominating Wimbledon
from 2003-07 and the US Open between 2004-08. The Swiss also became the only
man to reach all four Slam finals in the same year three times. When Federer
won the 2009 Roland Garros title he became just the sixth man in history to
complete a career Grand Slam. Federer has reached 22 consecutive Grand Slam
semi-finals, more than double the length of the next-best Open Era streak (Ivan
Lendl’s 10 straight semi-finals).
2. Roger Federer was crowned ATP World Tour Champion five
times during the decade, tying Jimmy Connors’ five finishes as year-end No. 1
in the South African Airways ATP Rankings and edging to within one of Pete
Sampras’ six (consecutive) No. 1 finishes. Federer set a record for most
consecutive weeks at No. 1 (237) and will end 2009 on 263 (non consecutive)
weeks in the top spot, within 23 weeks of Sampras’ all-time record of 286
weeks.
3. Rafael Nadal’s four consecutive Roland Garros titles is a
stunning feat. The Spaniard won on his debut in 2005 and won 31 consecutive
matches before big-hitting Swede Robin Soderling upset him in a fourth-set
tie-break in the fourth round this year.
4. Roger Federer’s 24 consecutive victories in finals he
played between late 2003 and late 2005 is a record that is likely to stand the
test of time. Federer’s streak was finally broken by David Nalbandian in the
final of Tennis Masters Cup in 2005, when Nalbandian rallied from two sets down
to beat Federer in a fifth-set tie-break.
5. Rafael Nadal became the first man since Bjorn Borg 28
years before him to claim the elusive Roland Garros-Wimbledon double in 2008.
(Federer repeated the feat in 2009). In a banner year Nadal also won Olympic
gold that season.
6. Andre Agassi, at 33, became the oldest player to hold the
No. 1 South African Airways ATP Ranking in 2003. Agassi’s feats of longevity
were an inspiration during the decade. In the decade he won 16 titles,
including three Australian Opens (at age 29, 30 and 32) and a 17th ATP World
Tour Masters 1000 title in Cincinnati
7. Roger Federer’s 173-9 match record in 2005-06 makes our
Top 10 list. Federer produced unrivaled back-to-back seasons of brilliance in
the middle of the decade. He went 81-4 in 2005 and 92-5 in ’06, winning 23
titles during that span, including five Grand slam titles and eight ATP World
Tour Masters 1000 crowns.
8. Rafael Nadal’s imposing clay-court streak during the
decade was breathtaking. Nadal, who owns a 181-16 career win-loss record on
clay, won more than 11 matches for each one he lost on the surface. He amassed
an 81-match winning streak between 2005-07. His record in best-of-five-set
matches on clay is 49-1 and he has won 24 of 26 finals on the surface.
9. Lleyton Hewitt is the only man other than Federer to be
crowned ATP World Tour Champion two straight years during the decade: in 2001
when he won the US Open and Tennis Masters Cup (now Barclays ATP World Tour
Finals) and in 2002 when he won Wimbledon and a Tennis Masters Cup. Hewitt held
the No.1 South African Airways ATP Ranking for 75 consecutive weeks – including
for the entire 2002 season – and 80 weeks in total. Hewitt remains the youngest
player (at 20 years, 8 months) to be crowned ATP World Tour Champion.
10. Rafael Nadal‘s record at ATP World Tour Masters 1000
tournaments is astonishing. Before turning 23 in June, Nadal had won 15 of the
ATP World Tour’s premier tournaments between 2005-09. He trails Federer by just
one and all-time leader Agassi by two titles. (Agassi won his record 17th ATP
World Tour Masters 1000 title as a 34 year old.)
Honorable Mentions
Gustavo Kuerten became the first Brazilian to be crowned ATP
World Tour Champion at a dramatic Tennis Masters Cup in Lisbon
Nicolas Massu winning singles and doubles gold at the 2004
Olympics.
Roger Federer’s 65-match grass-court winning streak
beginning in Halle in 2003 and ending with his
2008 Wimbledon final loss to Nadal may never
be equaled, given the short grass-court season.
Rafael Nadal reaching 400 match wins faster than any other
active player is worthy of note. Nadal reached his 400th win from 491 matches,
topping Federer and Hewitt, who both needed 520 matches to register their 400th
wins.
The Players Of The Decade
(By ATP Staff, ATP
website, December 13, 2009)
Roger Federer's perseverance paid off as he won Roland
Garros on his 11th attempt to complete the career Grand Slam. Take a
look back at the best five players and best doubles team of the past decade.
Performances between the years of 2000 to 2009 only have been considered.
1. Roger Federer
Roger Federer, possibly the greatest player ever to grace
the game, has dominated men’s tennis since the turn of the millennium, winning
a record-breaking 15 Grand Slam titles. In July 2003, at the age of 21, the
Swiss delivered on his early promise by capturing his first major crown at Wimbledon . What followed in the next six years has been
truly remarkable.
The Basel native went on to
win a further five Wimbledon titles, including
five successive victories between 2003-07. Since 2004, his dominance at The All
England Club has only been interrupted by arch rival Rafael Nadal in an epic
final in 2008 that was hailed as one of the greatest matches ever. Federer also
exerted his dominance at the US Open, where he won the title five times in a
row between 2004-08, with his run finally ending against Juan Martin del Potro
in a five-set thriller in the 2009 final. He won three Australian Opens in
2004, ’06 and ’07 and completed the set at Roland Garros this year, defeating
Robin Soderling to become the sixth man in history to win the career Grand
Slam.
Federer has been a near constant at the top of the South
African Airways ATP Rankings. He first clinched the top spot on 2 February,
2004 and would stay there for a record 237 consecutive weeks before being
dethroned by Nadal on 18 August, 2008. The right-hander reclaimed top spot on 6
July, 2009 and at the end of the season was crowned ATP World Tour Champion for
the fifth time in six years – becoming only the second player (Ivan Lendl in
1989) to reclaim the year-end South African Airways ATP Ranking after losing it
for a year.
2. Rafael Nadal
In recent years, Rafael Nadal has emerged as the strongest
challenger to Federer’s dominance and has established one of the most gripping
rivalries in the history of men’s tennis with the Swiss. The Spaniard, who
proudly displays the silhouette of a bull’s horns on his tennis shoes, has been
the undoubted King of Clay in the past five years. Of the Spaniard’s 36
tour-level titles, 25 have come on his surface of choice.
The Mallorcan’s clay-court dominance has been at its zenith
at Roland Garros, where he first made his debut in 2005. He won his first 31
matches at the clay-court major, capturing four successive titles, before his
run came to and end at the hands of Robin Soderling in the fourth round this
year. But it is not only on clay that the left-hander has excelled. He became
the first Spaniard since Manuel Santana 1966 to win Wimbledon
when he dethroned five-time champion Federer in 2008 and won his first
hard-court major at the ‘09 Australian Open, once again defeating Federer.
The Manacor native, who has the following of a rock star,
became the first Spaniard in the history of the South African Airways ATP
Rankings (since 1973) to finish as ATP World Tour Champion in 2008 and has
featured in three of his nation’s four Davis Cup triumphs.
3. Lleyton Hewitt
The feisty Australian burst onto the scene in the late '90s,
becoming the youngest winner on the ATP World Tour when he won his home-town
title in Adelaide
With his famous cry of “Come On!” punctuating his every
success and donning a back-to-front baseball cap, Hewitt won his first Grand
Slam title at the 2001 US Open, signalling a changing of the guard as he
dismissed Pete Sampras in the final. That same year, he became the youngest
player (20 years, eight months) and the first Australian to be crowned ATP
World Tour Champion in the history of the South African Airways ATP Rankings.
The following year he held aloft the Wimbledon
trophy after defeating David Nalbandian and once again went on to finish at ATP
World Tour Champion. (Federer is the only other player to finish ATP World Tour
Champion multiple times this decade.)
The right-hander, also a runner-up at the 2004 US Open and
’05 Australian Open, has been a Davis Cup stalwart and is Australia Australia
4. Andre Agassi
Andre Agassi retired in 2006 but his impact early in the
decade guaranteed him a place in our Top 5 list. Agassi won three Australian
Opens in 2000, ’01 and ’03 and in May 2003, at 33, he became the oldest player
in the history of the South African Airways ATP Rankings (since 1973) to hold
the No. 1 ranking. Agassi also won seven of his record 17 ATP World Tour
Masters 1000 titles during the decade, including the Cincinnati
Agassi’s legacy extended far beyond the tennis court,
however. From the beginning of his career as a brash showman, Agassi had always
been one of the game’s highest-profile players, but in the 2000s he
consolidated his growing reputation as a statesman. Who could cheer against a
33-year-old legend who could still beat the best that the new generation had to
offer? He also became arguably the biggest sporting philanthropist on the
planet, raising tens of millions of dollars for the foundation that provides
funding for his charter school, the Andre
Agassi College
Preparatory Academy ,
which provides free schooling for underprivileged children in Las Vegas
5. Andy Roddick
Andy Roddick has faced the full weight of
The standout season for Roddick was 2003, when he won his
first Grand Slam title – fittingly on home soil – at the US Open, defeating
Juan Carlos Ferrero in the final. Later that year, he became the youngest
American (21 years, three months) to claim the crown of ATP World Tour Champion
in the history of the South African Airways ATP Rankings (since 1973).
The following year, Roddick suffered the first of three
heartbreaks in the Wimbledon final, all at the hands of Roger Federer, but led
the United States to its
first Davis Cup final (l. to Spain United States
defeated Russia
Doubles Team of the Decade: Bob Bryan and Mike Bryan
Dynamic American doubles duo Bob Bryan and Mike Bryan have,
without doubt, been the best doubles team of the decade. Since winning their
first ATP World Tour title at Memphis
The charismatic Californians, whose trademark celebration is
a chest bump, have won seven Grand Slam doubles crowns, beginning with Roland
Garros in 2003 – the same year that they became the first brothers to finish
ATP World Tour Doubles Champions, a crown they have earned five times in the
past seven years. In 2005, they became the second team in 50 years to reach the
final of all four Grand Slam championships in the same year and completed the
career Grand Slam a year later with their first victory at Wimbledon .
Also key players in the United States' Davis Cup team, they clinched the Cup
for their nation in 2007 with victory in the doubles rubber over Russia. Not content with dominating the doubles scene
in the decade, the Bryans have also wielded their musical talents by forming
the Bryan Bros. Band and released their first album, “Let It Rip” – featuring
the vocals of Andy Murray and Novak Djokovic -in 2009.
Honorable Mentions
Pete Sampras: Sampras’ outstanding career was winding down
as the decade began. His record six consecutive year-end No. 1 finishes and 12
of his 14 Grand Slam titles came in the 1990s. But the American did win his
seventh Wimbledon title in 2000 and, after
finals defeats in 2000 and ‘01, he won his fifth US Open title in 2002. Sampras
won just three of his 64 career titles in the decade.
Marat Safin: Safin won 14 of his 15 career titles in the
decade, including his stunning US Open title win (d. Sampras) in 2000 and the
2005 Australian Open (d. Hewitt). After his seven-title haul in 2000, Safin
looked as though he could become the dominant player of the decade. But he
would win just seven more titles in the next nine years, and none in the near
four-year period after his Australian Open triumph and his retirement late this
year.
Gustavo Kuerten: Guga had a huge impact at the start of the
decade, winning his second and third Roland Garros titles in 2000-2001. In 2000
he became the first South American to be crowned ATP World Tour Champion when
he beat Agassi and Sampras in the semi-finals and final of the-then Tennis
Masters Cup (now Barclays ATP World Tour Finals) in Lisbon. He won 11 titles in
2000 and ’01, but just four titles after that as a hip injury robbed him of
many more good years.
Nikolay Davydenko: One of the hardest workers and most
consistent players on the ATP World Tour, Davydenko has reaped the rewards by
winning 19 ATP World Tour titles since 2003 and recording five year-end Top 6
finishes in the South African Airways ATP Rankings. The Russian has an
impressive 19-5 record in ATP World Tour Finals and, showing that he is
ever-improving, clinched his biggest title to date at last month’s Barclays ATP
World Tour Finals. The only notable absentee from his glittering array of
silverware is a Grand Slam title.
David Nalbandian: The Argentine is worthy of an honorable
mention on account of finishing in the Top 10 of the South African Airways ATP
Rankings for five consecutive years between 2003-07 and reaching the 2002
Wimbledon final (l. to Hewitt). The former World No. 3 has won 10 ATP World
Tour titles and on top form has always been able to trouble the world’s best
players. In 2005 he rallied from a two-set deficit to defeat Roger Federer and
win the-then Tennis Masters Cup and also claimed back-to-back ATP World Tour
Masters 1000 titles in Madrid and Paris in 2007. But, like Safin, many tennis
fans believe Nalbandian should have won more titles in the decade given his
immense talent.
Juan Carlos Ferrero: Before the arrival of Rafael Nadal,
Juan Carlos Ferrero was the man to beat on clay. In a four-year span at the
start of the decade, the Spaniard’s clay-court credentials included the 2003
Roland Garros title (d. Verkerk), a runner-up finish (l. to Costa) at the
clay-court major in ‘02 and two semi-final efforts in ’01 and ‘00 plus three
ATP World Tour Masters 1000 trophies. The right-hander peaked at No. 1 in the
South African Airways ATP Rankings on 8 September, 2003 and proved his
versatility by also reaching the US Open final (l. to Roddick) on hard court
that year. However, hampered by injuries, the Spaniard suffered a let down in
following years and endured a title drought of more than five years before
hitting back in 2009 with victory in Casablanca.
The Best 5 Tennis Matches of 2009
(By ATP Website
Staff, 07.12.2009)
Take a look back at the five best matches of 2009...
1. Wimbledon Final – Roger Federer d Andy Roddick 5-7,
7-6(6), 7-6(5), 3-6, 16-14
Roger Federer has inflicted a lot of Grand Slam pain on Andy
Roddick over the years, but his epic five-set victory in this year’s Wimbledon
final was perhaps the most devastating of all blows. Although Federer boasts a
19-2 career head-to-head record over Roddick, the American has produced some of
his best performances against Federer in their four meetings in Grand Slams
finals (Wimbledon 2004-05, ’09 and US Open ’06). And his effort against Federer
at Wimbledon this year was something special.
Chasing a record 15th Grand Slam title, newly crowned Roland Garros
champion Federer toiled for four hours and 16 minutes before breaking the
Roddick serve, while needing to serve 50 aces himself to eke out a 16-14
fifth-set victory. At 77 games, it was the longest final in Grand Slam history,
eclipsing the 62-game Wimbledon final one year
earlier between Federer and Rafael Nadal.
Roddick had four consecutive set points at 6-2 in the
second-set tie-break to take a two-sets-to-love lead. Having squandered the
first three set points, Roddick botched a backhand volley to allow Federer back
onto even terms; the Swiss ultimately won six straight points to steal the set. Despite also losing the third set in a
tie-break, and his poor record against Federer, Roddick showed the depth of his
character in the fourth when he dug in and broke Federer in the fourth game.
“At that point, like everything else, there's two options: you lay down or you
keep going. The second option sounded better to me,” Roddick said of his
attitude at the start of the fourth set.
The longest final set in Wimbledon
finals’ history may not have happened had Federer converted his first break
point chance since the first set, in Roddick’s first service game of the fifth.
But Roddick, who had two break points of his own at 8-8, was clutch throughout,
holding serve 11 consecutive times in the fifth set to stay alive. But after 37 consecutive holds, Roddick
finally dropped serve in the 30th game of the final set when he sent a forehand
long, thus ending his hopes of claiming his first major title since his
breakthrough victory at the US Open in 2003.
Federer, who one month earlier had completed a career Grand
Slam by winning Roland Garros, became the greatest men’s Grand Slam singles
winner with a 15th major crown. The twin victories also saw Federer reclaim the
No. 1 South African Airways ATP Ranking, which he would retain for the
remainder of the season. He finished ATP World Tour Champion for the fifth time
and became just the second man (Ivan Lendl) to reclaim the year-end No. 1
ranking after having held and then lost it.
2. Mutua Madrilena
Madrid Open semi-finals, R. Nadal d.
Novak Djokovic 3-6, 7-6(5), 7-6(9)
In the longest best-of-three-sets match on the ATP World
Tour in the Open Era, Rafael Nadal won a brutal 4 hr., 3 min. dogfight with
rival Novak Djokovic in the semi-finals of the Mutua Madrilena Madrid Open in
May. Djokovic, who had recently tested
Nadal in the finals of the other two clay-court ATP World Tour Masters 1000
tournaments in Monte-Carlo and Rome, attacked the Spaniard with a barrage of
deep, flat ground strokes, which made it more difficult for the clay king to
wind up on his killer forehand. The Serb was also rewarded for his willingness
to hit aggressively to the open forehand court, nailing a series of clean
winners and limiting Nadal’s ability to run around his backhand. Djokovic offered up just two break points in
the match, and was broken only once.
Nadal saved a total of four break points in three different
games in the second set to stay in the match. Djokovic broke for a 3-1 lead in
the third set but Nadal broke back immediately and the set went on serve to
6-6. Nadal, who had never lost a tie-break to Djokovic, was forced to save
match points at 5-6, 6-7 and 8-9 before he eventually took the ‘breaker 11-9
when a Djokovic lunging forehand wide in the court fell into the net. Appearing
in his fourth consecutive ATP World Tour Masters 1000 semi-final, Djokovic did
everything but win. "I’m very disappointed that I can play this well and
still not win a match," he said. "I think that I’ve played my best
tennis on this surface.”
By advancing to the final, Nadal came within one match of
becoming the first player in history to win all three ATP World Tour Masters
1000 clay-court tournaments in the same season. But, despite being arguably the
fittest player on tour, Nadal was clearly below his physical best the following
day in the final against Roger Federer, who handed Nadal just his second loss
in 27 clay-court finals. Perhaps the
semi-final took more out of Nadal than was known. In his next appearance he
suffered a shock fourth-round exit at Roland Garros and later withdrew from Wimbledon and did not win another tournament for the
year.
3. Australian Open
semi-final, Rafael Nadal d. Fernando Verdasco 6-7(4), 6-4, 7-6(2), 6-7(1), 6-4
The Australian Open has a recent history of producing
surprise finalists, and Fernando Verdasco had every chance of extending the
trend when he took fellow Spanish left-hander Rafael Nadal into a fifth set in
the semi-finals at Melbourne
Park Spain
win the Davis Cup final on Argentine soil at the end of 2008 and also was in
the best shape of his life after working in Las Vegas
In the fourth round Verdasco claimed a five-set win over
Andy Murray in oppressive heat and then took out 2008 finalist Jo-Wilfried
Tsonga in his first Grand Slam quarter-final.
Nadal, who already held the Roland Garros and Wimbledon titles, was
determined to add the Australian Open to his collection and join a select group
of players to have won three different Grand Slam trophies.
Both players hit the ball with ferocious power in a 5-hour,
10-minute modern-day slugfest. With spectacular defence, Nadal gave nothing to
Verdasco, who faced 20 break points in the match, of which he saved 16. In
contrast, Nadal offered up just four break points in 28 service games, and was
broken just twice. With such a grueling
semi-final, there were doubts about Nadal’s ability to recover well enough to
challenge Federer in the final. But Nadal would not be denied, and went on to
take out Federer in the five-set final and become the first man at the
Australian Open since Mats Wilander in 1988 to win the semi-finals and final in
five sets to take the title.
4. US Open 2nd
Round – Taylor Dent d. Ivan Navarro 6-4, 5-7, 6-7(1), 7-5, 7-6(9)
Taylor Dent and Ivan Navarro turned back the clock back late
Friday night on Grandstand court at the US Open as they put on a
serve-and-volley feast for fans. The players combined to make around 250 net
approaches, with both successful more than 60 percent of the time. Dent had not
previously seen the Spaniard play and expected to face a baseliner. It was only
after he got the heads up from former pro Justin Gimelstob that Navarro was a
serve/volleyer than the American firmed up a game plan.
Dent and Navarro also brought the heat on their first
serves, with Dent firing the tournament’s fastest serve of 147 mph; Navarro got
as high as 130 mph. One of Dent’s thunderbolts snapped the net strap, forcing a
seven-minute delay to the match, which ultimately ticked over the four-hour
mark. In a serving shootout, Navarro put an astonishing 81 percent of first
serves into play; Dent made 71 percent of first serves. Dent fired 20 aces and
topped 140 mph around 10 times during the match.
In an emotion-charged fifth set, Dent rode the support of
rowdy home fans to a 6-4, 5-7, 6-7(1), 7-5, 7-6(9) win after saving one match
point in the tie-break. After shaking hands Dent grabbed the umpire’s
microphone and screamed, “You guys are unbelievable. I love you!”
Dent, playing his first US Open since 2005, was told by
doctors that his career was over after two back surgeries in 2006 and 2007. Not only is Navarro an unusual character as a
serve/volleying Spaniard, he has a quirky habit of changing racquets each game,
using one racquet for serving and another for returning. In the fifth-set
tie-break he kept a second racquet at the back of the court.
5. Barclays ATP
World Tour Finals semi-final, N Davydenko d. Roger Federer 6-2, 4-6, 7-5
When Roger Federer won seven of the first eight points
against Nikolay Davydenko in their Barclays ATP World Tour Finals semi-final,
there was every reason to believe that the Swiss was set to extend his unbeaten
12-0 career record against the Russian. But seemingly in the blink of an eye it
was Davydenko who had opened a 4-1 lead with exceptional court coverage and
crisp ball striking that made Federer do the bulk of the running. After being broken three times in the first set, Federer
dropped just five points on serve in the second set as the quality of the match
soared even higher. The Swiss took a rare opportunity on Davydenko’s serve in
the 10th game to clinch the second set and force a decider in front of 17,500
delighted fans.
The Russian looked on the verge of defeat in the 10th game
of the third set as a huge stroke of luck for Federer saw a net cord dribble
over Davydenko’s side of the net to hand the Swiss a 0/15 lead, before an
incredible behind-the-baseline smash from Federer, in response to an Davydenko
overhead, saw him take a 0/30 lead and move to within two points of victory.
But that was the closest to defeat Davydenko would come; he never went down
match point and in the following game he broke Federer with a stunning backhand
return.
There was still one more twist to play out: With Davydenko
serving at 6-5, Federer earned a break point but the Russian coolly righted the
ship with a forehand winner and soon after served it out. Davydenko went on to claim the biggest title
of his career when he beat US Open champion Juan Martin del Potro in the final.
That completed Davydenko’s tournament sweep of the winners of all four 2009
Grand Slam titles following his victories over Federer (Roland Garros and
Wimbledon) and, in round-robin play, Rafael Nadal (Australian Open).
Davydenko, who finished runner-up to Novak Djokovic in the
final in Shanghai
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