POST-PARTEM

It has taken me over a week to sufficiently recover from Rafa's shocking loss in the Australian Open in order to write about it.  (Truthfully, I got over it a few days ago but have been a bit busy.)  The quest for four consecutive major titles -- The Rafa Slam -- came to a jarring halt against fellow countryman, David Ferrer, in the quarterfinals.  Nadal suffered a hamstring tear in the first game of the match and was unable to match the movement of the relentless Ferrer.  It was a shame, really.  With Ferrer firing on all cylinders, a healthy Nadal would have needed a superior effort to get past him.  It could have been a classic.  Instead, it was twisted tennis theater.  Out of respect for Ferrer and for the game itself, Nadal refused to retire from the match.  Clearly less than his best, the world number one battled the best he could.  He took an extended injury time out in the first set, coming out of the locker room with his hamstring taped up.  Then, in the second set, when it seemed Nadal was moving okay, there was a ten-minute break while fireworks filled the sky in honor of Australia Day.  The break couldn't have helped the hamstring.  Adrenaline was lost, as was any hope of a miraculous comeback.  Ferrer refused to take pity on his wounded Davis Cup compatriot.  He made the match physical.  Nadal bravely fought on, but Ferrer mercifully finished him off in straight sets.  In the press conference following the match, Nadal admitted to being injured very early on in the match but did not use that injury as an excuse.  Nadal wore his disappointment on his sleeve, yet gave full credit to David Ferrer.  In the moment, Rafa earned both sympathy and admiration, a true champion in victory and in defeat.

The rest of the tournament was somewhat anti-climactic.  In the semis, Andy Murray lost the first set to Ferrer but rallied to take the next three and move on to the final.  With Nadal going down, Novak Djokovic became the favorite.  The Serb soundly defeated Roger Federer in the other semifinal, also in straight sets.  In the final, nerves got the best of Andy Murray.  Djokovic pounced on the emotionally-brittle Brit and took the title in three fairly easy sets.  It was Nole's tourney.  His game and maturity peaked during the fortnight.  He was a worthy champion.  It was his second Aussie Open trophy and second Grand Slam title overall.  With consecutive victories over Roger Federer in the semis of the U.S. Open and Australian Open, Novak Djokovic is now the second best player in the world.  He will most definitely be a force to be reckoned with the rest of the season.  But it would be foolish to count out either Rafael Nadal or Roger Federer, two of tennis' all time champions.

BUSTED BRACKET

Much like Agnieszka Radwanka's racket, my Australian Open bracket has exploded.  Granted, filling out a bracket for me is pure entertainment, since I place no actual wagers on the event.  It is merely an exercise to test my powers of prediction, and to some extent my knowledge of the long roster of players in the game.  In tennis bracketology, the Australian Open poses the greatest challenge of the major events.  Following the tennis off-season (roughly a month), a handful of warmup tournements give us our only concrete handicapping information.  Which players trained hard?  Which vacationed hard?  Coaching change?  Weight gain?  Returning from injury?  Whatever the case may be, the questions you ask before filling out a bracket get answered on the court.  Tennis is truth.

In the first round of the men's bracket, I was 23-9 in both halves of the draw for a total of 46-18.  An average percentage.  My only big loss was Florian Mayer beating Nikolay Davydenko, who I foresaw in in the quarterfinals.  Ernests Gulbis of Latvia continued to disappoint me with yet another first round loss in a Slam.  It was also sad to see early exits for Americans, Ryan Harrison and Sam Querrey.

In the second round, I was 11-5 in both halves of the draw for a 22-10 record.  Pretty good.  Mardy Fish going down stung a bit.  Nalbandian submitting against Richard Berankis of Lithuania was a punch in the gut.  But Davydenko remained the only knockout through two rounds.

I got roughed up in the third round by a couple of young punks.  22-year-old Alexandr Dolgopolov of the Ukraine took out Jo-Willy Tsonga, grinding him down to grab the fourth and fifth sets with relative ease.  I had Tsonga winning this match and the next one over Soderling to reach the quarters.  20-year-old Milos Roanic of Canada impressively dismissed Russian tough guy Mikhail Youzhny.  I had Youzhny in the quarters.  Stanislas Wawrinka of Switzerland may have been the lower-seeded player in his matchup with Gael Monfils, but he was clearly the better player, ousting the Frenchman.  I had Monfils winning that match and the next.  The match between Marin Cilic and John Isner was fantastic entertainment, and felt for a few moments like a mini version of Isner-Mahut.  Watching him go down hurt both the bracket and the heart.  All in all for the third round, I was 4-4 in the top half of the draw, 5-3 in the bottom half, 9-7 total.

In the first round of the women's bracket, I was 25-7 in the top half and a woeful 20-12 on the bottom for a total of 45-19.  Ana Ivanovic was my only loss of consequence, as I had her advancing all the way to the round of 16.  Her fall from tennis grace frustrates and saddens me.  I truly hope she finds a way to recapture the same game and mojo that took her all the way to number one.  I also hated to see Melanie Oudin sent packing so quickly.

In the second round, I was 9-7 on top, 10-6 on bottom, for a weak 19-13 mark.  Jelena Jankovic's prolonged slump continued, as she was beaten by Shuai Peng of China.  JJ and Yanina Wickmayer were the only two picks I lost in the round who I had making it to the round of 16.

As it did on the men's side, the third round kicked my bracket's butt on the women's side.  Though I went 8-8 for the round (5-3 on top, 3-5 on the bottom), the numbers don't tell the full story.  Svetlana Kuznetsova won a war over Justin Henin.  I had Henin winning that one and beating Schivone in the following round to reach the quarters.  I picked Shahar Peer, the Israeli, to beat Flavia Pennetta, the Italian, but Pennetta took that battle.  Venus Williams gamely tried to go against young German, Andrea Petkovic, but her groin injury was too severe, forcing her to retire from the match after a single game.  I had Venus winning this round and beating Sharapova in the next one to get to the quarterfinals.  But the match that singlehandely busted up my bracket was 20-year-old Petra Kvitova of the Czech Republic and Samantha Stosur of Australia.  In my estimation, Stosur was one of the favorites to win the tournament.  She has steadily improved her singles game to reach number 6 in the world.  With Serena out, Stosur was seeded fifth in the tournament and possessed perhaps the biggest serve in the game.  And Stosur would be riding the wave of the home crowd all the way to the finals, where in my bracket she would face off against the number one seed, Caroline Wozniacki.  But by taking out Sam Stosur in straight sets in a night match in Rod Laver Arena, Petra Kvitova broke the hearts of the Aussies and broke my bracket.

DAY 3 DRAMA

Janko Tipsarevic quit.  He had Fernando Verdasco on the ropes, up 2 sets to 1.  Verdasco's body language indicated he didn't believe he could win.  He landed awkwardly on his ankle and appeared to be in a lot of pain... 

The ninth-seeded Spaniard was on his way out. In his career, Tipsarevic has several victories over top ten players, and showed no signs of cracking in this one. He served for the match. Verdasco found a way to break.  Tipsarevic broke back and served for the match once again. Verdasco broke him one more time.  But this time, he broke his spirit.  They went to a fourth set tiebreaker, but Janko Tipsarevic punished himself for not closing out the set by giving the set away. Verdasco blanked him in the tiebreaker then bageled Tipsarevic in the fifth. With Fernando serving for the match, Janko didn't even make an attempt to return the last few serves, which all went for aces, until finally ending the journeyman Serb's waking nightmare. It was very difficult, not to mention disappointing, to watch a player defined by an underdog's fighting spirit completely wilt and surrender. Kudos to Fernando Verdasco for not giving in or giving up when everything was going against him and battling until the last point.

Venus Williams slugged it out with her pesky opponent, Sandra Zahlavova, of the Czech Republic.  Zahlavova could rival Sharapova for sheer grunting power and volume. Venus seemed to be matching her scream for scream.  But then Venus hit a ball and let out a shriek of another kind... pain. Venus seemed to pull her groin or injure her hip. Zahlavova took the first-set tiebreak in dramatic fashion. Venus went to the locker room for treatment in between sets. The commentators and crowd wondered for a moment if Venus would do something she's never done before in a Grand Slam... retire from the match. Venus walked to her bench and ended the suspense by unwrapping a brand new racket. The first game of the second set was full of tension. Would Venus be too injured to continue? The answer was no. Venus gutted out the game and swept the set, 6-0.  The third set much tighter, but Venus somehow found a way to get the break and close out Zahlavova, 6-4.  Pure guts.

As if the daytime drama wasn't enough, primetime served up some of its own surprising thrills. Roger Federer looked to be on cruise control against the French former top-tenner, Gilles Simon. In their two previous head-to-head meetings, Simon beat Fed both times. Simon began to assert himself in the third set as Roger's game hit a rough patch. And to Simon's credit, he rode the momentum to win the third set 6-4, then duplicate the score in the fourth. In a tense fifth set the outcome really was in doubt for a spell. In the sixth game, Federer finally secured the break of serve and screamed out into the night. The pressure had clearly built up in the Mighty Fed and the release was relatively huge for the normally stoic Swiss maestro. Simon fought off a couple of match points in the next game to hold serve, but could not stop Roger from serving out the match. Tremendous win for Federer.  Unbelievably dramatic day at the Australian Open. One can only hope every day of the tournament will be like this one.

FIRED UP DOWN UNDER

With the 2011 Australian Open underway, I must acknowledge how much richer my life is when tennis is in the spotlight.  A mere two weeks into the new year, Grand Slam tennis is in full swing.  And it only took two days for me to fall in love with the game all over again.

I've never attended the Aussie Open in person, and each year when the tournament begins, I'm forced to deal with the disappointment that I've missed it again.  Solace comes in the form of ESPN2 (with a little help from ESPN3 and the Tennis Channel).  Twelve hours of coverage a day makes it easy to feel absorbed in the tournament, even if I'm not physically there to soak it in.  I thoroughly enjoy the ESPN team commentating on the men's game -- Chris Fowler, Patrick McEnroe, Darren Cahill, and Brad Gilbert.  Of course, I wish Patrick's big brother John joined the gang on a daily basis, but you can't have everything.  Above and beyond the statistics and the breakdowns, it's their contagious love and appreciation of the sport that enhances my enjoyment of the television coverage.  Dick Enberg brings his elder statesman enthusiasm to the proceedings, Cliff Drysdale classes up the joint, and Tom Rinaldi digs up some great information around the grounds.  All in all, it's the next best thing to being there.

For the second year in a row, I filled out a bracket before the tournament started.  As much as I wanted to go out on a limb and pick an underdog, I got to the end of my prognostications and realized I had picked the number one seed on each side to win.  Rafael Nadal has won the last three majors in a row, and no one would be shocked to see him take his fourth consecutive Slam.  However, Caroline Wozniacki is a little less obvious choice.

Though Woz is seeded first, she has yet to win a Grand Slam title.  With Serena still recovering from injury and physically unable to defend her title, the women's draw seems to be wide open.  Vera Zvonareva is the number two seed and has been knocking on the door of the last few majors.  She could win it.  But she may have to get by Australia's own Samantha Stosur in the quarters to even have a shot.  Stosur reached the finals of the French Open last year and keeps getting better and better.  She could also win it.  Most of the commentators on ESPN, if not all, picked Kim Clijsters to win.  Justin Henin is in the mix.  Sharapova is lurking in the draw.  And, of course, Venus Williams will be a factor.  With so many players holding a realistic chance to take the title, and no Serena, it's difficult to predict a winner.  My gut tells me to go with the pretty blonde Dane, Caroline Wozniacki, and lest I suffer the consequences, I listen very carefully to what my gut is saying.

The men's side is much more straight forward.  The top five is on a separate plane from the rest of the field.  One of those men will win the tournament.  Nadal is the clear number one right now, but Roger Federer is still playing fantastic tennis and is a serious threat to win his fifth Australian Open trophy to go with his six Wimbledons, five U.S. Opens, and a French.  Novak Djokovic is a very hot player right now, coming off a U.S. Open final and dramatic Davis Cup victory, a first for Serbia.  He's won this tourney once before for his one and only major.  He could do it again.  Big-swinging Swede Robin Soderling is now the number four player in the world and is definitely a threat, but he'll most likely have to get through Jo-Willy Tsonga and Andy Murray just to get a shot at Nadal in the semis.  The five seed, Andy Murray, probably has a better shot to win his first Slam.  He took out Nadal in Melbourne last year, though Nadal wasn't all the way back from injury yet.  Murray has much less pressure on him in Australia than he does at Wimbledon, which could allow him to fly under the radar until the quarters.  He's got the game to do it, but can he keep his wits about him for seven rounds?  There are some other players out there who could also make some noise -- Tsonga, Fernando Verdasco, Tomas Berdych, Andy Roddick, Gael Monfils -- but I don't think the guys on that tier can put together enough upsets to go all the way.  The gauntlet formed by that top five is just too damn tough to get through.  I'm picking Rafa to complete what Patrick McEnroe is calling the Straight Slam, meaning all four majors in a row regardless of the calendar year.

Vamos, Rafa!

THE HIGHS AND THE LOWS

From the top of the sport...

Rafa and Roger Walk on Water

To the bottom...

Wayne Odesnik's Long Road Back

The Curious Case of Wayne Odesnik

DELAYED GRATIFICATION

Sunday was a wash.  Monday was full of fits and starts.  Finally, Rafa reigned supreme.  Relentless and unyielding on the court, humble and gracious off the court, Rafael Nadal is the worthiest of U.S. Open champions. His trophy case now complete with all four Grand Slam titles, his legacy permanently etched in the record books, Nadal is officially one of the all-time greats.  And he's only 24.  Much more to come from the Man from Mallorca who refuses to plateau.  Connors says he plays like he's broke.  After literally pocketing another check for $1.7 million, he's far from it.  But his brand of perpetual motion defies logic. Already the best, somehow he keeps getting better.  

Found this poignant poem by Cilla Reid on Peter Bodo's blog:

BREAKING NEW

On a DecoTurf court in a fabulous city,
Where life is a mixture of flashy and gritty,
A young man from Spain beat a Serbian lad
In a battle where both gave it all that they had.

The trophy is Rafa’s and it’s well deserved.
His game was inspired, and oh, how he served!
Nadal was relentless, like waves in a storm,
But Novak kept coming and would not conform.

In his semi with Roger, Novak made us all proud,
With his heart on his sleeve, he won back the crowd.
He stood on that baseline and dictated play,
But Rafa refused to be beaten today.

My first glimpse of Nadal was in France at their Slam,
And I watched him, mouth open, saying, “Hot Damn!”
His slides were amazing; his speed was a wonder, 
His footwork impressive; his ground strokes like thunder.

When he lifted that trophy in Paris and smiled,
My heart it just melted and I was beguiled
By his charm and his spunk and his guns and his gets,
He lit up the place; he was hard to forget.

Then he captured more titles on hard, clay and grass,
And he challenged the best with his game and his class.
He brought us the bolo; he redefined spin;
And his volleys improved to the skeptics’ chagrin.

Now he sleeps in the best of the finest hotels,
But he’ll never play poker—he has too many tells.
He picks at his shorts, he tugs at his locks,
He lines up his bottles and ignores all the clocks.

In tennis we’ve witnessed something so rare
In Roger and Rafa and the grand slams they share.
We wonder if there will be more to their story,
But for now, let’s just sit back and bask in their glory.

Let’s celebrate Rafa, who brought us his best.
He’s a jewel of a person and we are all blessed
With his courage and candor and beautiful smile,
We all hope that he will stay with us awhile.

Kudos to Rafa and Uncle Toni and everyone in the Nadal camp.  Vamos on a job well done.

THE MISSING LINK

Super Saturday at the U.S. Open, while not completely void of drama, was most notable for who or what was missing in action.  Three or the top four men in tennis were present in the semifinals, with Andy Murray being the lone exception.  Thinking Murray was primed to capture his first Grand Slam title, I picked him to win the tournament before it started.  Instead, the fourth-seeded Scot went down in the third round to Switzerland's second-best player, Stanislas Wawrinka.  Wawrinka then lost a heartbreaking five-setter to Russian Mikhail Youzhny in the quarterfinals.  Completing the chain, yesterday an exhausted Youzhny was overwhelmed by Rafa Nadal in the semifinals.  Tweaking his grip just before the start of the U.S. Open, Nadal has bumped up the MPHs on his serve and is clearly on a mission.  Perhaps Murray would not have been up the task of giving Rafa a real run for his money in the semifinals, but his absence was duly noted, and Rafa rolled in straight sets to reach his first U.S. Open final.

Kim Clijsters deserved to win the women's title.  Her monster semifinal against Venus Williams was the women's match of the tournament.  Vera Zvonareva played well to reach her second Grand Slam final, taking out the #1 seed Caroline Wozniacki (who is looking supremely fit and gorgeous these days).  But, again, what struck me most was the fact that Serena wasn't there.  Last year's memorable final between Kim and Serena included the famous blow-up at the lineswoman who called a foot fault on Serena, but Kim was already on the verge of defeating her fair and sqaure when the incident occurred.  Unfortunately, Serena sustained a foot injury which kept her from seeking revenge on Kim this time around.  Thus, the women's tourney really climaxed with Kim vs. Venus.  Taking nothing away from Clijsters, now a three-time winner at the U.S. Open, things may have been different if Kim was forced to get past both Williams sisters.

Without a doubt, the match of the day was Roger Federer vs. Novak Djokovic.  For three years in a row, Nole has suffered his U.S. Open fate at the hands of the Swiss maestro, he last two years in the semis, the year before that in the final.  You knew The Serb didn't want to lose to The Mighty Fed four years in a row.  But Fed hasn't been quite as mighty this year as in year's past.  In the spring, I was present in the Indian Wells Tennis Garden to witness Roger squandering match points and losing to Marcos Baghdatis.  Uncharacterisically, Federer did the same against Tomas Berdych in Miami.  Those were losses to guys he previously owned.  Soderling took Fed out in the quarters at the French to snap his unbelievable Slam Semi streak, then Berdych beat him again at Wimbledon.  In the press conference following the loss to Berdych, Roger revealed he had been struggling with some nagging injuries.  It seemed to explain why we weren't seeing the Greatest Player of All-Time at his usual awe-inspiring level.  But yesterday was different.  Federer didn't have the same mastery of his forehand and appeared to tank the second and fourth sets to conserve energy.  Djokovic was not only the hungrier, more determined man on the court, he was the braver one, too.  It's hard to say something was missing from a five-set epic, but indeed there was something... Federer's killer instinct.  Once again, Roger Federer had match points against an opponent he has dominated throughout his career and ended up losing the match.  Although the tennis season began with Roger winning the Australian Open and banking his 16th Grand Slam, 2010 will be remembered as the year when Federer lost his invincibility.

Today could be a historic day in tennis.  Rafael Nadal has the opportunity to capture the only Grand Slam title that has eluded him.  By winning the U.S. Open, Nadal would complete the Career Grand Slam at the ripe old age of 24.  Or Novak Djokovic could play spoiler and accomplish something even more rare... defeating Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal in the same weekend to win a Grand Slam title.  Either way, someone is going to find something they've been missing.