PROGRESSION

Roger Federer set the bar for contemporary tennis.  On the backs of the giants that came before him, he built a legacy that elevated tennis to new heights.  He evolved the game.  Rafael Nadal propelled the sport even further by finding ways to defeat Roger Federer.  And now Novak Djokovic takes tennis to a stratosphere it has never been before.

Perhaps we are too quick to declare a present day event or player as the "Greatest of All Time".  But, in the case of what we witnessed last night in Rod Laver Arena at the Finals of the Australian Open, it's nearly impossible to resist the label.  The match set the standard as the longest Grand Slam Final ever played at just under six hours, with Djokovic defeating Nadal 7-5 in the fifth and deciding set.  Those are the numbers.  But, as always in sports, the story goes much deeper than the statistics.  We saw two perfectly-conditioned athletes, who have trained their entire lives for the moment, break through boundaries and ceilings to discover new limits to their immense potential.  Both champions were forced to confront their limitations, then find solutions to the problems created by those limitations.  The mind, the body, and the spirit were each put to the ultimate test.  On display for the world to see, these men of men plunged the depths of their souls to mine reserves they never knew they had.  Together, they redefined what was possible.  They transcended tennis.

One may read this spiritual analysis of a tennis match with cynicism and say it's only a game.  I contend it was far more than that.  Combining the skill of the classic Borg-McEnroe encounters with the will and determination of the John Isner-Nicolas Mahut marathon at Wimbledon last year, this Djokovic-Nadal match will stand the test of time as a vivid reminder of why human beings compete against each other.  In short, to see what they are made of.  

And There There Were None

Big John Isner battled bravely, but was outplayed and ousted from the tournament by Feliciano Lopez in yet another five-setter.  There are now zero American men alive in the Australian Open.  This is the first time in the Open Era it has happened before the Fourth Round.  It's a bit sad.  But, I'm resisting the urge to panic, and brushing it off to a bad trip to the other side of the world.  I suspect the narrative will be significantly different in the Spring, on the home courts of Indian Wells and Miami.

Not Such a G'day, Mate

The dominant subject of the day in my tiny corner of this vast universe has been American tennis.  The Yanks got sunk yesterday Down Under.  Three American men lost their second round matches -- Mardy Fish, Sam Querrey, and Donald Young.  The day was saved only by the heroics by John Isner, in yet another marathon match that saw him defeat David Nalbandian 10-8 in the 5th set.  And, truth be told, Isner was the beneficiary of two horrendous errors by the chair umpire on the same serve, which rattled Nalbandian and turned the match at 8-8 in that deciding set.  The timing couldn't have been worse, the calls couldn't have been more unfair.  Isner's leg was cramping, his shoulders were drooping.  Perhaps Big John was playing possum, but it sure looked like the Argentinian was getting the better of him.  All that was required to salvage any shred of hope for the American men in Australia.  Andy Roddick is still alive in the tournament, but nobody really fancies his chances of him bringing home the trophy.  After watching Fish get run off in straight sets by Columbian Alejandro Falla, and then Donald Young get smoked by qualifier Lukas Lacko, I just couldn't stand to watch Sam Querrey battle Australian phenom Bernard Tomic.  Plus, it was already two in the morning on the West Coast, and I had to be up early for a morning meeting... about American tennis.

In order to develop future tennis champions in the United States, the way the game is perceived in America needs to change.  Soccer and tennis have similar problems.  Internationally, the two sports dominate media coverage and attract the best athletes.  Our greatest American athletes play football, basketball, and baseball.  When Tiger Woods is playing golf, tennis ranks as the sixth most popular sport in the States.  That's the inherent issue facing the recruitment of talented kid athletes to choose tennis over all those other sports.

I propose that tennis needs to be made cooler in America.  The game, phenomenal as it is, must be marketed better to the masses.  ESPN and Tennis Channel combine to do a fine and thorough job of airing the ATP and WTA tours, rightly focusing on Grand Slams.  But, for a sport that is going on pretty close to all year round, rarely does tennis register on the radar of the American sports world.  I allow that perhaps the game has found its natural place in the pecking order, but I refuse to accept that it's set it stone.  I believe television is the proper medium to transform the image of tennis of America.  We can use television to get to know the players better -- to connect with them -- to vicariously live the lifestyle -- to understand their commitment and sacrifice -- to get a much deeper appreciation for their constant pursuit of greatness.  If we can manage even half that, we have a chance of drawing talented young athletes to the incredible game of tennis.

Once we reel them in, of course, we have to find better ways to teach them.  But that's a subject better left for another day.


UPDATE: Andy Roddick had to retire from his match last night with Lleyton Hewitt after pulling his groin.  He was trailing two sets to one at the time.  Oh, and Ryan Sweeting was up two sets to one on number 5 seed, David Ferrer, but lost in 5.  That leaves John Isner as the only American man left standing in the third round of the Australian Open.  Quite a sad state of affairs.

OPEN FOR DISCUSSION

During the U.S. Open, I had an ongoing email chat with a lovely young female friend of mine. We'll call her Anastasia (even though nobody else calls her that). The two of us have decidedly different rooting interests, but share a passion for tennis.   Our back-and-forth went a little something like this:

RE: WEEK 1

Me: What's up with all the rain at the Open? The schedule is getting pretty messed up. Could make for an incredibly dense day of tennis tomorrow. I still think it's Djokovic and Serena hoisting the trophies...

Anastasia: I do not like this rain, not one bit. Now we're going to miss some of the action, and the quality of play will be compromised. Boo! Get a roof built already! I'm sticking with Roger. I think he can do it! As for the women, I could care less. Did you see Serena's interview about the foot fault at the beginning of the tournament? She has no class, and she's kind of an idiot.

Anastasia: Is it obvious I don't like her? :)

RE: WEEK 2

Me: So, what'd you think? I'm sure you were quite pleased Serena went down. How'd you feel about Djokovic crushing Nadal's spirit? I thought it was a great day for tennis (Monday Men's Final), no matter what the outcome.

Anastasia: Indeed, it was a great tournament, for sure. Obviously, I was crushed when Novak took out Fed, but the men's final was a great match! I'd be happy if Djokovic won the next 7 majors, as it will only cement Roger's Grand Slam record :) He fucking deserved it, too. He's in incredible shape...

Me: Roger was so close. That one go-for-broke shot, and Djokovic's reaction to that shot, changed the energy on that court. From that point on, it was all mental. Fed's game is still right there. He should have won. It was his. He would've beaten him in the semis of the French and the U.S. Open, and completely wrecked the Djoker's dream season. Instead, Djokovic takes 3 out of 4, all the Masters Series titles, and is etched in history. Djokovic owns Nadal. Nadal owns Federer. And then there's Djokovic/Federer, which is clearly a toss up.

Me: This is a Golden Age of men's tennis. The bar keeps getting raised. Technology and fitness have revolutionized the game. The talent pool is much deeper than it's ever been. And the game is being played at a higher level than it's ever been played. And, yet, these three astounding athletes at the top have collectively been dominating the game for years now. They are so good a player as supremely talented as Andy Murray can't even win a single major.

OPEN FOR BUSINESS

The U.S. Open is underway!  Unfortunatlely, I am currently holding down a full-time job and cannot plant myself on the couch and flick through 6 courts of coverage on DirecTV and ESPN2.  Instead, I must be content with watching what I can during the day on ESPN3, then scrolling through many glorious hours of tennis on the DVR later tonight.

I've written this before, but I truly feel more alive during Grand Slam tennis tournaments.  Rarely do I get the opportunity to attend in person.  But when the four majors are in progress, tennis is on the big stage.  Anyone who cares at all about tennis is watching, and people who don't normally pay attention to tennis are more likely to sit up and take notice.  That is especially true here in America when the U.S. Open is in session.  Today, I am particularly appreciative that this tournament started as scheduled, one day after a giant hurricane swept through the New York Metropolitan Area.

AIN'T IT GRAND

When one of the four Grand Slam tennis tournaments is taking place in the world, my life is richer.  If I'm not working, which I prefer not to do during the Majors if I can help it, I can camp out on the couch and spend a televised day in Melbourne or Paris or London or New York.  A phenomenal feature on DirecTV allows me to choose which court to watch, if the network coverage is not showing the match I want to see.  If I happen to be working during a particular Slam, my DVR makes sure I have wall-to-wall tennis waiting for me when I get home.  No matter what's going on in my life at the time, I feel busier during a Grand Slam.  There's more to do.  I feel energized, alive.

But when a Grand Slam ends, a massive canyon-sized hole is created in my world.  That sensation came over me once again yesterday, one day after the French Open concluded its annual clay soiree.  I woke up with no clay court tennis in progress.  Nothing to catch up on.  No match to anticipate later in the day. Instead, it was just a Monday.  Granted, the grass court season began right away in England, but I wasn't ready for a Wimbledon tuneup quite yet.  Although, I must say, the thought of Wimbledon just a few weeks away will make it a lot easier to get through this tough transition.  In fact, on the tennis calendar, these two Slams are by far the closest together.  Mercifully, my melancholy and misery will be short lived.  But before I go back to wallowing, let's review the thrilling events from the weekend at Roland Garros.

On Friday, Rafael Nadal took care of business with a hard-fought three-set victory over a game but overmatched Andy Murray.  Their clash was but a mere amuse bouche to an incredible meal, for later that day, Novak Djokovic and Roger Federer played an instant classic.  With the number one ranking, a ton of pride, and a shot at the title on the line, Nole and Fed put on a shotmaking show.  To watch Federer move around the court and strike the ball so cleanly, you would never know that he has been slumping this year.  You would never know that tennis folks have been beginning to mourn his inevitable decline.  Fed looked every bit the 16-time Grand Slam Champion against the hottest player on tour in Novak Djokovic, who was riding one of the great win streaks in tennis history.  Djokovic seemed to be affected by the moment.  With a four-day layoff between matches due to a walkover in the quarters, his timing was off in the first set, and Federer took full advantage.  But Nole has been playing so well, struggling through a set meant that he would force Roger to win it in a tiebreaker.  Federer kept the momentum going in the second set, Djokovic let down a bit.  Fed won the set 6-3 and took a commanding two sets to love lead.  But the Djoker has too much confidence in himself and his game these days to roll over like he may have done in the past.  He fought back, broke Roger, vigilently held serve, and took the third set 6-3.  The fourth set produced some spectacular tennis, with so much riding on the result and neither man willing to budge.  Fittingly, it came down to a tiebreaker in near darkness. If Fed won it, the match was over.  If Djoker won it, they would return to the court on Saturday morning to play a winner-takes-all fifth set.  Echoes of Federer's loss to Nadal at Wimbledon with darkness encroaching reverberated throughout Stade Roland Garros.  But Roger was up to the task this time.  He gained the advantage, withstood every effort by Nole to level the match, and won the tiebreaker before nightfall.  When Federer finally took match point, he proudly wagged one finger in the air, as if to say, "You all forgot for a second that I was the greatest, didn't you?"  And then he screamed the kind of cathartic scream that comes from prolonged periods of intensity ending in sweet relief.  The scream allowed us a rare peek behind the polished veneer and into the burning heart of the fiercest of competitors.  Federer had vanquished Djokovic.  The streak was done.  But Roger was not.

Saturday provided us with a Women's Final that may have lacked star power but was not short on intrigue.  The defending champion, Francesca Schiavone, was looking to repeat the magic that won her the title last year and prove she was no one-Slam wonder.  With the absence of Justin Henin, Schiavone has surprisingly stepped in and filled the void as the tour's clay court dame.  But Li Na (or Na Li) was not about to hand her the trophy.  After reaching the Australian Open earlier this year but falling to Kim Clijsters in her bid to become China's first Grand Slam winner, Li was motivated to make history.  Schiavone etched her name into the tennis history books by beating Sam Stosur in last year's French final, taking the first Grand Slam title for the women of Italy.  Li Na came out firing in the first set, undaunted by the magnitude of the moment.  She hit the ball harder and crisper and prevented Schiavone from finding her rhythm.  The Chinese woman secured the first set 6-4 and went up a break in the second.  Schiavone played much better tennis in the second set, getting to net as much as possible and expertly angling her volleys.  When Li Na served at 4-3, Schiavone's aggressive nature prevailed and she broke back to level the set.  The Italian then seemed to gain the momentum.  She went up 6-5.  With Li Na serving to stay in the set, an overruled line call swung Uncle Mo back to the Chinese player.  She held to force a tiebreaker.  With history on the line, she didn't blink.  In fact, she skunked Schiavone 7-love in the breaker, then fell onto her back in celebration.  The crowd showed their appreciation for the quality of the match and Li Na's tremendous achievement at 29-years-old.  She can now forever boast that she won a Grand Slam title.  And China will never forget her.

Sunday brought us another treat -- the 8th Grand Slam Final between Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer. The two living legends have played in more Grand Slam Finals against each other than any duo in the history of men's tennis.  Going into the match, Rafa was 5-2 in finals against Roger.  Nadal won four meetings at the French and one at Wimbledon, Federer won two at Wimbledon.  With respect to Bjorn Borg and John McEnroe, Federer and Nadal can lay claim to the greatest rivalry ever on the men's side.  (Evert and Navratilova obviously own that distinction on the women's side.)  Nadal also needed to win the match to retain his number one ranking.  If he lost, Novak Djokovic would take the top spot in tennis away from him and Federer would take his crown.  But the sensational Spaniard would not be denied.  Though Federer played fantastic tennis to make him earn it.  Fed went up 5-2 in the first and looked good doing it.  But as he has so often in the past, Nadal flipped a switch and won the next 5 games to take the set.  Nadal went up a break in the second and served for the set.  A brief but hard rain fell from the sky and caused a delay (the first of the tournament).  When play resumed, Federer stormed back, broke Nadal, and forced a tiebreaker.  But Nadal rebounded by taking a 4-0 lead and cruising in the breaker to win the second set and go up two sets to love.  Again in the third set, Nadal went up a break.  At 4-2, it looked to be over.  But Federer dug deep into his champion heart and refused to give in.  He broke Nadal twice and won the set 7-5.  There was a glimmer of hope in the Federer camp.  But it was brief.  Nadal dominated the fourth set, breaking Roger repeatedly and closing it out 6-1.  When it was over, Rafa dropped to his knees then exchanged a warm embrace with Roger at the net.  Uncle Toni stood and screamed "Vamos!" three times.  This may have been the 6th time Nadal has won this title, but it seemed just as sweet to them as the first.  And for tennis fans, we got to experience these two magnificent players produce the kind of tennis we always wish for when they do battle.  Though the fourth set itself may have been anticlimactic, the men's final satisfyingly capped off an epic three days of tennis.

Of course, I wished I was in Paris to witness it all firsthand, but I can honestly say there was no shortage of emotion and enjoyment while watching from the comfort of my own home.  To me, there is nothing like Grand Slam tennis.  Although, to fight off depression, I'll probably tune in tonight to watch my Miami Heat go for a 3-1 lead in the NBA Finals.  I guess that'll help a little.