TENNIS IN THE MAGIC BOX

They call it La Caja Magica, or The Magic Box.  It is the surreal new home of the Madrid Masters, complete with three courts equipped with retractable roofs, an awesome futuristic-looking structure for tennis.  But it was the renewal of an old rivalry that brought the place to life last Sunday.  For the first time since last year's final, the first in The Magic Box, Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal faced off.

When these two players meet, tennis is elevated.  Much has been written about their contrasting styles, and their mutual respect for each other, and their genuine love of the game.  Unquestionably, they're both likable characters and outstanding ambassadors of the sport.  But it's the tension in the air when they stand on opposite sides of the court that transcends tennis.  Not since Borg and McEnroe went toe-to-toe have we witnessed a monumental rivalry like Federer-Nadal.  We watch with baited breath to see if something legendary will happen when they play, because every time they do the possibility exists.  Sunday's showdown was an excellent match, but not one for the ages.  Nadal won 6-4, 7-6, but the real story was of the rivalry renewed.

Last year, leading up to this very same tournament, the tennis world questioned whether or not The Mighty Fed would ever sit atop the game again.  After losing to Rafa in Australia, he  appeared to lose a step and some of that supreme confidence, even melting down and slamming a racket in frustration in the sweltering heat of Miami.  But then the tide turned.  A tired Nadal lost a little mojo in The Magic Box and then lost his cloak of invincibility at the French.  With the door wide open at Roland Garros, Federer finally completed his career slam by vanquishing Rafa's conquerer, Robin Soderling. Nadal's relentless style of play finally took its toll on his body and his knees, and the divorce of his parents clouded his focus. Unable to defend his title at Wimbledon, Nadal stepped aside and watched as Federer outlasted Andy Roddick in a marathon final to break Pete Sampras' record for the most Grand Slam titles in the open era. Rafa returned for the North American hard court season, but wasn't the same.  After the layoff, he was rusty and couldn't trust his knees.  Juan Martin Del Potro emerged and raised the level of his game to defeat Roger at the U.S. Open and snap The Mighty Fed's streak at five.  Back in the land down under earlier this year, Nadal again looked vulnerable and uncharacteristically retired in a quarterfinal match against Andy Murray, already down two sets to love.  In the final, Federer took Murray down in straight sets to collect yet another Grand Slam trophy.  I wasn't the only one who wondered whether we had seen the last of the great battles between Rafa and Roger.  This spring, Rafa worked his way back into form, reaching the semifinals of both Indian Wells and Miami, losing to the eventual winner each time. Meanwhile, Roger struggled, upset by Baghdatis in Palm Springs and Berdych on Key Biscayne.  Once again, it appeared the two giants of the men's game were moving in opposite directions.  Returning to the European red clay, Nadal seemed to step back into his own skin.  He dominated in Monte Carlo, winning the tournament for the sixth time in a row.  Federer skipped Monte Carlo, then was shocked in the second round by Ernests Gulbis.  Rafa ruled Rome, took the title, and reclaimed the nickname King of Clay.

Winning in Madrid completed a trifecta never before accomplished, three Masters 1000 events in a row, and all three Masters on the dirt.  An amazing accomplishment.  Nadal ran his overall record against Federer to 14-7, including 10-2 on clay.  He also overtook Andre Agassi for the most Masters Series titles at 18.  But it was taking back his ranking of Number 2 in the world that restored order to men's tennis.  It means that Nadal is really back.  Roger will be seeded #1 at the French Open next week, and Rafa will be seeded #2.  They can only meet in the final.  Just the way it should be.

It'll be very interesting to see if Rafael Nadal can flip the tables again and overtake Roger for the #1 ranking.  First, he has to recapture Roland Garros.  If he can do that, it'll come down to Wimbledon.  With the rivalry fully renewed, we can only hold our breath in hopes that Rafa and Roger will produce something special that demands to be recorded in the annals of tennis history.  Now that they're both back in form, the possibilty exits yet again.

THE RIVALRY

Extra!  Extra!  Federer-Nadal Final!

For the first time in a calendar year, "The Rivalry" will be renewed. 

Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal will add another chapter to their storied history tomorrow, as they clash in the finals of the Madrid Masters.  Federer took down Nadal in the finals of this same tournament last year.  The two have not played since.  Let's hope it's one for the ages.

TENNIS IN THE ETERNAL CITY

TiVo and Rain Delays are not friends.  Not one but two rain delays caused my TiVo (technically, it's a DVR, but I prefer to call all DVRs TiVos) to miss most of the second set of yesterday's final in Rome between Rafael Nadal and David Ferrer.  Residing on the West Coast of the United States, for me the matches were aired live on Tennis Channel in the middle of the night.  No worries.  TiVo recorded the tournament on a daily basis, and I was able to watch all or part of almost every singles match played.  Sure, there were a couple of rain delays here and there, but they never caused me to miss any tennis.  That is, of course, until the last half of the last set of the final.  I was lucky enough to see the two Spaniards slug it out in a grueling first set, won by Nadal, 7-5.  I was rather unlucky that the recording ended with my favorite Mallorcan up 3-1 in the second set.  Though he cruised the rest of the way, taking the set 6-2, I wanted the satisfaction of seeing him close it out, celebrate, and hoist the trophy in the air.

Sure, it's nice to see a still image of Nadal with a victorious smile and another title in his hands, but it's not the same.  And apparently, I missed the man cutting up a bit, uncorking a bottle of Champagne -- excuse me, Italian sparkling wine -- during his on-court celebration.

Despite the technological gaffe, I'm ecstatic that Rafa is playing electrifying tennis again.  After a rough year of injuries and recoveries following the shocking loss to Soderling at the French, Nadal finally looks like he's back to his true self on the court.  I could continue to gush, but Steve Tignor does a perfect job of it over at Tennis.com.  Oh, and I stole the following picture of Rafa from his site, too.  Love it.

I'm not claiming any kind of clairvoyance, but I did pick Nadal to win the Masters 1000 event in Rome before it started.  Obviously, I wasn't going out on a limb with that pick.  But I made it official for the first time, entering the ATP World Tour Draw Challenge, essentially a fantasy tennis league.  Keeping in mind that it was my first time playing, I think I did fairly well.  I mean, it may not seem that way when you consider I finished in 6431st place.  But that was out of 15029 entrants, and I was pleased to at least crack the upper half of the competition.  I had both Nadal and Ferrer in the semis, but I had Ferrer losing to Djokovic (Ferrer beat Verdasco) and Nadal beating Federer (Nadal beat Gulbis instead).  The person who filled out the winning bracket correctly picked Nadal to win it all, and Ferrer over Verdasco, but had Nadal beating Almagro to reach the final.  In fact, Almagro was the only player to let the eventual winner down, as the bracket nailed 7 out of the 8 quarterfinalists. Those quarterfinal picks included Ernests Gulbis from Latvia, who upset Federer in the second round and continued to play fantastic tennis before finally faltering late in the third set against Nadal in the semifinals.  Besides the extra "s" at the end of his first name, Ernests Gulbis was thoroughly impressive in this tournament.  He has always been regarded as a young player with tremendous talent and upside, but until now he never quite fulfilled his potential.  As a Jew with some Latvian ancestry, I sincerely hope the win over Federer and stellar play gives Gulbis the confidence to believe he can be one of the best in the world.  Because if Ernests consistently plays like he did in Rome, there's no doubt he will be.

One last side note on the fantasy tennis game... The person who finished with the third place bracket correctly predicted all four semifinalists, including Gulbis, but still lost to two other fantasy players.  That tells you how hard it is to win on the circuit.  The only thing I can do is continue to improve my game from week to week, and hope with a few breaks and a little luck, I too can climb the tennis ladder and reach #1. Hey, a guy can dream, can't he?

TENNIS ON THE COTE D'AZUR

Rafael Nadal ended his tournament title drought yesterday in resounding fashion.  Though he is generally on friendly terms with fellow Spaniard Fernando Verdasco, he abused his countryman in the final of the Monte Carlo Masters, grinding him down and crushing him into the red clay, 6-0, 6-1.  Although Rafa hadn't won a title since the Rome Masters in 2009, almost a year ago, he took home the Monte Carlo trophy for a record sixth straight time.  That's not just a tournament record, that's a tour record!  No man had previously won any title six times in a row until Nadal made history yesterday.  All week, he looked like he was back to his phenomenal clay court self.  His movement was exceptional, he hit his usual heavy ball, and he did not drop a single set.  In route to the title, he had to beat three Spanish compatriots in a row -- Juan Carlos Ferrero in the quarters, David Ferrer in the semis, and Verdasco in the finals.

Though he has won what he calls his home tournament in Barcelona five straight times, Rafa announced today he is withdrawing from the event due to the overloaded clay court schedule. Having previously logged several complaints about the ATP scheduling, Nadal is clearly disappointed that he won't be defending his title so close to home. But the man needs to give his body sufficient rest in order to make a run at reclaiming his dominance at the French Open.  Vamos, Rafa!

Sadly, after attending the last two ATP Masters 1000 events in Indian Wells and Miami (pictured above), I did not make it to the French Riviera and the principality of Monaco for the Monte Carlo Masters. However, I did witness Andy Roddick's victory in Key Biscayne a couple of weeks ago and failed to report it here at Vamos!

Roddick dispatched Tomas Berdych of the Czech Republic in straight sets to take his first Masters 1000 title since 2006.  On the way there, he beat Rafael Nadal in the semifinals, playing some of the best tennis of his entire career.  As I've stated before, Roddick has been a frustrating player to root for over the years.  I love that he's been committed to representing the United States in Davis Cup, I love his sense of humor, I love his swimsuit model wife, and I love his gigantic serve.  But he's been stuck at a total of one Grand Slam title since winning the U.S. Open in 2003.  Some of that is obviously due to the juggernaut that is Roger Federer, and some of that is due to his inability to make adjustments during matches.  In the past year and half, Roddick has been working with coach Larry Stefanki, who has Andy in the best shape of his life and playing smarter.  He took Fed to the brink at Wimbledon, has improved his slice backhand, and now serves with a lot more variety.  While I may have soured on Roddick in the middle years of his career, he has won me over again.  It was fantastic to see him win in Miami, where I also saw him take the trophy in 2004.  In his speech, he thanked outgoing tournament director Butch Buchholz for giving him a wild card entry to the event (then called The Lipton) when he was 17 and won his first match as a pro.  For Roddick, things have truly come full circle.

After the men's final, I stuck around to watch the women's doubles final, won by the two lovely ladies pictured above, Gisela Dulko and Flavia Pennetta.  All in all, it was a colorful day at the Crandon Tennis Center on Key Biscayne.  Always nice to revisit my favorite stop on the tour.  Though, when it comes to tennis, I'm greedy.  I now need to find a way to get to Paris and Roland Garros for the French Open in late May.  Anybody headed in that direction?  If so... Can I get a ride?

TENNIS IN THE TROPICS

On a cool and crisp Wednesday night on Key Biscayne, I watched Kim Clijsters take out Samantha Stosur before witnessing Rafael Nadal outslug Jo-Willy Tsonga.

Clijsters and Nadal have had different fates since then, with Clijsters winning a war against Justine Henin last night and Nadal suffering a three-set defeat to Andy Roddick just moments ago.  The all-Belgian women's semifinal was a roller coaster affair, with both players coming up with fantastic shots followed by unforced errors.  Roddick and Nadal played a much higher quality of tennis in their match, with Roddick surprisingly able to frustrate Nadal in the second and third sets.  To paraphrase Ma Kelly in "Johnny Dangerously"... Happy for Andy, sad for Rafael.

I'll be seeing Roddick in the finals on Sunday against the winner of the Robin Soderling-Thomas Berdych semi later on tonight.  Not exactly the marquee matchup I was looking for, but I'll take what I can get.

As you can see, the Crandon Park Tennis Center is a stunning setting for tennis.  I've been going to this tournament for a long time now, dating back to when it used to be called the Lipton.  I feel at home there. It was extra special this year, as it marked the first time I was able to attend back-to-back Masters 1000 events in Indian Wells and Key Biscayne.  Now if I can just find a way to get to Europe for the clay court season...

THE TENNIS PLAYER AND THE GYPSY

Unquestionably, Rafael Nadal is a phenomenal tennis player.  And while he may not show quite the same level of skill in his acting debut, Rafa steams up the screen with Shakira in her video for "Gypsy." The song is catchy but pretty silly, leaning heavily on the lyric, "I might steal your clothes and wear them if they fit me."  To illustrate the point, Rafa spends the majority of the video with his shirt off.



No doubt the two make a smoking hot couple, though they've both denied rumors of an affair.  And I'm happy to see Nadal branching out and doing his part to bring tennis to the mainstream, but I'd much rather watch him strut his stuff on the tennis court.  Which is exactly what I will be doing this evening at the Sony Ericsson Open in Key Biscayne, as he takes on the formidable Frenchman, Jo-Willy Tsonga.  Now that's a hot match.  Vamos!

TENNIS IN THE DESERT

The next best thing to Grand Slam tennis is Masters Series tennis.  I was lucky enough to attend the BNP Paribas Open yesterday and thoroughly enjoyed my time at the Indian Wells Tennis Garden.  I'm not exactly sure what a tennis garden is, but I like the sound of those words together, and the complex is pretty fantastic.  Seconds after stepping foot on the grounds, my friend V and I noticed a crowd gathered by one of the practice courts.  When we got closer, we saw that it was none other than... Rafa!  Vamos!

I've seen Nadal play live before, but never got the opportunity to watch him hit from a few feet away. What struck me most was the unique sound of the ball coming off his racket.  Controlled violence.  I have to say, it was a real thrill to watch him even during a casual practice.

While we were waiting to get into the stands to watch Jelena Jankovic and Shahar Peer in action, we turned around to see that The Mighty Roger Federer himself had stepped foot onto the practice court next to Nadal.  However, the side-by-side practice sessions only lasted for a few minutes, as Rafael wrapped up fairly quickly after Fed's appearance.  But I caught Roger in a relaxed moment with his hitting partner, a mere hour or so before his night match.  Accessibility to practice courts is part of what makes a tennis event special, and the tennis garden has it in spades.




Bored by the Jankovic-Peer match, which was one-sided in favor of the Serb and extremely lacking in energy, we took our seats in the stadium, which happens to be the second largest tennis stadium in the world next to Arthur Ashe Stadium in Flushing Meadows.  We saw some of Andy Roddick's routine win over a young Dutchman, and watched a set of Nadal's doubles match, before hunkering down for James Blake vs. Nicholas Almagro on one of the outer courts.  Blake looked sluggish and a bit hobbled most of the match, but fought hard.  Almagro, clearly the cleaner hitter (and surprisingly, the bigger server) of the two on this night, lost his temper a few times over some horrendous line calls.  To be fair, the umpire was at least consistently bad, so the calls probably evened out at the end.  After losing the first set and toughing out the second, Blake looked to be playing for a third set tiebreaker.  But Almagro managed to break him and hold on for the victory.  While it's always difficult to play against someone on their home turf, Almagro's demeanor and behavior certainly didn't win him any fans last night.  Hopefully, J-Blake can get himself back to 100% and compete with the big guys again.

When we returned to the stadium for Federer-Baghdatis after Blake's match ended, we had absolutely no idea we were going to witness the most shocking upset of the year so far.  Within minutes after sitting down at the top of the octogonal stadium, Fed held serve to take a 6-5 lead in the first and broke Bags to take the set.  Late in the second, The Maestro had two break chances against the Cypriot to take yet another 6-5 lead, but Marcos fought off both break points and held serve.  That's when the shocker really started. Everyone in the stadium assumed Roger would hold serve and force a tiebreaker, but he played a loose game, sprayed a couple of shots, and without much warning (or energy from the crowd), Baghdatis broke him to win the set 7-5.  Fed went up an early break in the decisive third set, but Bags refused to go away and broke to get back on serve.  That's when I reminded V that I had half-jokingly said late in the second set that Marcos Baghdatis would fight his way back from the brink and win this match.  But I was still shocked when Cyprus' favorite son actually pulled it off by taking the third set tiebreak.  Fed was stunned. The crowd was stunned. V and I jumped up and down and chanted Marcos' name.  Interviewed on court after the match, Baghdatis said that he had lost to Federer in each of their previous six meetings, but seven was his lucky number.  Awesome to see him back on the big stage with his big game and his big personality.  He made our night.  I still don't have a clue what a tennis garden is, but I know I like it.