Tennis Tourney Dropouts

A revival of "Beauty School Dropout"--that famous ditty from Broadway musical "Grease"--was playing across the grounds of the U.S. Open on Thursday.
The quitters included tennis beauty Richard Gasquet, Jose Acasuso and Luis Horna. And here's a coincidence that must have made Justine Henin--who brought quitting to a new low when she was just a handful of games from being trounced by Amelie Mauresmo in the finals of the 2006 Australian Open--very proud. Acasuso and Horna just happened to be losing when they couldn't go on. I wasn't there and missed any tele broadcast, but I'm doubting that their quitting looked as ridiculous as Henin's did. How could it? She set a very high standard that will be difficult for anyone to meet for years to come. Because she's a champion? No, because she wasn't feeling well. Uh... Ooh... People can say what they like... Er... And for years to come too.
Anyway, the beneficiaries of Quitting Day at the U.S. Open--nearly a fourth of the men who advanced to the round of 32 didn't have to complete a match--included Donald Young, birthday dude Andy Roddick (can you say partay) and Nicolas Almagro.
Meanwhile Martina Hingis, a onetime quitter of the tennis tour, who's back in the hunt, returned from her bout of not feeling well (I haven't seen "Sicko" yet--was it about the professional tennis tour?) to return to the round of 32 yet again.
But no one looked as decisive as Maria Sharapova, who doesn't look like she's about to quit playing at this year's U.S. Open, serving hiccups and all, till she's again holding the trophy over her head. 6-1, 6-0. And not even playing her best.
If I were Agnieszka Radwanska, Sharapova's next opponent, I think I might start feeling a little ill right about now.

Second Three-Set Win, First Grand Slam Third Round

The real story at the U.S. Open Wednesday night was away from the limelight as American Ahsha Rolle reached her first Grand Slam third round by winning her second three-set match in a row. Her opponent, Karin Knapp of Italy, isn't exactly a household name, but Rolle took one step closer to becoming one, as she entered the tournament's elite 32. Out of the top 100 coming into the tournament, Rolle now is looking like maybe she should have been seeded. Her ranking certainly will be in the double digits instead of triple after this tournament. Who knows? Maybe it's even headed toward the single digits.
A Floridian who you just might have heard more of, Serena Williams, did well yesterday too. Serena Williams congratulated her next opponent, Vera Zvonareva, on reaching the third round. "And me too," she added in her very Sarah Jessica Parker look a la the last season of "Sex and the City."
What's up with the pink in the dress and the pink headband though? They're not the same shade of pink. Is that what's making her opponents freak? Or is it just Serena's tenacity and ability to raise the level of her game when she needs to? It's not every player who can skip all the summer's tournaments but still shake off enough rust to reach the final 32. But then talent has never been a question with Serena--probably still the most talented player in the field. Just not necessarily the biggest fighter, despite her periodic grunting tributes to past great and, like Serena, two-time U.S. Open champ Monica Seles, who has one more Grand Slam title than Serena (and would have won who knows how many more had it not been for the stabbing) and was said to be milling about the tournament Wednesday.
Serena is known for her slow starts, not only in matches but tournaments in general. Usually her better play doesn't show up till the later rounds, as though it booked a separate flight for the tournament and has been too busy sightseeing to be bothered with the first week. Serena wasn't just being a good sportsman after the match in her compliments to Maria Elena Camerin, who demonstrated just how deep the talent on the women's side is becoming. Maybe Camerin's results so far this year have sucked, but last night she looked like she had plenty of game and pop on her strokes, particularly her inside out shots. The one big area for improvement for Serena? Those little steps so she doesn't get jammed when the ball comes right at her, according to USA commentator and former two-time US Open champ (again, like Serena) Tracy Austin. What a pleasure it is to hear her interesting commentary instead of the conceited, contrary and often irrelevant drivel of someone like Johnny Mac, even if he isn't quite as awful a commentator as he used to be.
Not remotely like this superstar-caliber commentary! Go me. Go me. Go! Go! Go! Ahem.
Oh and Roger Federer won folks. Yes, he somehow managed to reach the third round not dressed like a White Hare, but in very Agassilike black. Wait a second. What's going on? The guy's cute and number one. I still am sticking with my ridicullous prediction that he won't win or, for the first time in nine Grand Slams, even reach the final. Despite the fact that my chosen winner, Nadal, apparently has health issues and barely won his match. We just won't go there people. No.

Vinci Came, Saw and Was Conquered

Maria Sharapova may not be seeded number one at the U.S. Open or be ranked number one in the world, but she looked every bit the part of defending champion and, at least on this blog, favorite in her 6-0, 6-1 dismantling of Roberta Vinci in 50 minutes.
Wearing a seamless dress and playing a virtually seamless game, apart from two double faults in her last service game, Sharapova got the cold shoulder from the night crowd, who sounded like they might be on the verge of booing her when she announced her red dress was in honor of the Big Apple. Either Sharapova sounded too programmed or the notoriously fickle New York crowd was annoyed that Sharapova never let Vinci into the match or the spectators were disappointed that Sharapova let her game do the speaking for her rather than any of her usual bag of tics. To my utter delight, I heard not one "come on" from her the entire match.
The crowd was as silent after Sharapova's win as she had been on the court during her extremley brief first round. (Does it still count as a whole round when it's that brief?!) It was as though the crowd had been programmed coming in to not like the person who stood before them, almost unaware that, for all the hype and marketing that has surrounded Sharapova, there even still might be a person there.
It made for a strange ending. Sharapova autographed a few balls and was out of the stadium almost as quickly as the vanquished Vinci.
Only Sharapova will be back. And there can be little doubt of the program she has in mind--six more wins.
It's a program that may once again fit her perfectly.

On a Rolle

Without question the most exciting upset of the U.S. Open so far, American Ahsha Rolle picked apart Tatiana Golovin 6-4, 1-6, 6-2, and in so doing showed Golovin the one key ingredient missing from her game: fight.
If you're the 109th best football, baseball or basketball player in the world, your poster is probably hanging in more than a few bedrooms across the world and a few candles lit in your honor to boot. Tennis is a sterner forum. You can even be in the top 10 for years and still not be a household name, even if you are able to afford caviar morning, noon and night.
Who knows where Rolle's ranking may wind up? But it's as high as it's ever been at 109 and will only go up after this win.
Could she be fitter? Sure. Are there much tougher opponents out there than Golovin? Of course. But a win over someone as talented as Golovin bodes very well for Rolle, particularly in only her second appearance in the U.S. Open main draw and third appearance in any Grand Slam main draw.
No the brief snippets that they showed of her play on TV didn't bring the names of powerhouses like Venus or Monica to mind. And she doesn't have the raw talent of Serena to get away with not being in better shape through later rounds.
But I couldn't help wondering if Rolle might have as bright a future on the tour as another southern African American lady, one who also wasn't destined to be on poster after poster across the land but won a lot of tennis fans' admiration--Chanda Rubin.
Only time will tell.

Sharapova, Nadal Win 2007 U.S. Open

In a surprise, especially considering that the tournament hasn't yet begun in earnest, Maria Sharapova defended her U.S. Open title and Rafa Nadal won his first Grand Slam other than the French Open, at least in this intrepid prediction for the 2007 event, without question far and away the tackiest of all the Grand Slams.
"Come on!" Maria Sharapova screamed after her victory. No one had to be removed from the stadium, however, to receive treatment for injuries to their ears. There was too much commotion after Serena Williams, the other ladies' finalist, punched Sharapova out at the net, rather than the traditional handshake. In her dreams that is, but they came through so vividly that the crowd was still aghast, booed Serena off the court, emptied their wallets and threw all of their money directly at Sharapova rather than wasting time channeling it through all the nation's advertisors. Not your usual champions' ceremony! "I'd like to thank George Washington for his face on this bill. And this one. This one too," Sharapova didn't say. She'd already been whisked away to run on David Letterman for a solid year. Rumor has it that he may not want to leave his chair empty too long during that period or else someone a little more winning might take his place if you know what I mean wink, wink, nudge, nudge.
On the men's side, Rafa, Rafa, Rafa came off his shocking win over sizzling hot Novak Djokovic, which just seemed like an upset even though Nadal was seeded higher, given Djokovic's bright prospects, tremendous summer and overblown hype in such places as well, this blog. Andy Roddick, who turned everyone's heads completely around when he upset Federer in the quarterfinals, had lost his mojo by the time he reached the finals.
"Rafa was just too good," he said. "Hats off to you," Roddick said. "Oh, and hats off too to the Tennis Critic blogspot for it's predictions this year. Even if they're totally wrong, I thought they were spot on!"
That's all that didn't happen yet for now. Now, let the tournament begin!

Zvereva Protege Squeaks by Graf Protege

Remember when Natasha Zvereva was an up-and-coming singles player? Then she got to the finals of the French Open in 1988. It was the best and worst thing that ever happened in her career. Steffi Graf demolished her in the finals 6-0, 6-0. Zvereva never reached another singles Grand Slam finals. Instead, she emerged as one of the greatest doubles players ever, winning Grand Slam after Grand Slam event with Gigi Fernandez and adding real spark and fun to the doubles tour that it didn't see again until Martina Navratilova returned to it and started winning event after event in her 40s. (And with a U.S. Open mixed doubles title in Navratilova's last professional match last year, just shy of 50.)

Navratilova's now retired (again), but Zvereva's back. At least, her doppelganger is. No player has looked as much like Zvereva on the professional tour both in both her humor and intensity as Jankovic, who many are declaring will dominate the women's tour one day. Despite her win last night over Tatiana Golovin, I have my doubts, and I think these doubts arise mainly because she reminds me so much of Zvereva. That and the fact that even though Jankovic has skyrocketed to the elite ranks in women's tennis, lately she's plateaued. Has she peaked? Or does she just need to retool and fine-tune a little more? Not everyone is a child prodigy a la Hingis or Seles. Navratilova was in some ways a late bloomer on the tour. Overweight and unfocused at her career's beginning, she didn't dominate the game on arrival. Should I be comparing Jankovic with Navratilova instead? It seems laughable, doesn't it? With Navratilova, one doubts there ever could be a comparison.

But Djokovic, also from Serbia, and Jankovic are the future of tennis, some say, perhaps wishing for a flashback to the heady days of champions from the same country, such as Becker and Graf, or Hingis followed on the heels by Federer.

Yet at the Rogers Cup last night, Tatiana Golovin looked like a resurrected Steffi Graf in the first set. No one has reminded me as much of Graf since Kim Clijsters first came on the scene. Running around her backhand time and time again and walloping her forehands for awe-inspiring winners, Golovin looked like the champion, not Jankovic, whose serve turned into jelly right before the crowd's eyes. Both Grand Slam mixed doubles champions in their own right (Jankovic this past year at Wimbledon and Golovin at the French in 2004 when she was just 16), these two ladies were running to the net like no one on the men's or women's side has done in a match in quite some time. Give them some lighter balls on the tour and I believe we would have a new #1 and #2 right now!

I went to bed after the first set, assuming that Golovin would trounce Jankovic and meet Henin in the next round. But Jankovic apparently either got it together or Golovin choked. Jankovic attributed her victory to serving better in the second two sets. And her serve was admittedly God-awful in the first set, which hardly promises great things for her going forward. (Should I be comparing Jankovic instead to Elena Dementieva, only without as powerful a forehand or half as much determination?)

My assumption that Golovin was headed for another upset was wrong, so maybe my excitement over Golovin's play and skepticism about Jankovic will be too. But if Golovin's play in the first set against Jankovic in the first set is any indicator of what's to come, the rest of the women on the tour all may want to consider packing their bags and spending much more time on the doubles' tour.

Roger's Reign Ends at Rogers Cup

Roger Federer's dominance of men's tennis came to an end today in Montreal, as Novak Djokovic defeated the former world number one in three sets. Though Federer retains his world number one ranking, his days of dominating the tour looked over, as Djokovic hit winner after winner and seemed to be battling his own nerves more than Federer.
It is fitting that Djokovic is the new world number one, though that will happen months from now after he wins a few Grand Slams, since he has the best imitation of Maria Sharapova on the men's tour. Plus, he's much more handsome than she is.
But it was his strokes that had Federer scrambling. And rarely has Federer made more just plain stupid errors on the court than he did in the third-set tiebreak, including his decision to challenge two balls of his that were clearly out--just the kind of silly move to calm Novak's nerves down.
Now that Nadal has Federer's number on clay and Novak has his number on hard courts, Federer may only have one surface left to dominate--grass. Perhaps he and Venus will be winning that little tournament known as Wimbledon for years and years to come. But his days of being ranked number one are clearly numbered.

Practice Does Not Make Perfect

Andy Roddick looked like he had the momentum against Novak Djokovic at Montreal's Rogers Cup in the first set tiebreaker. Djokovic had lost his serve in the previous game in a series of goof ups--a missed easy passing shot that made Djokovic eat his racket in a risky looking pantomime of "Choke" and a double fault at the end of Djokovic's service game that made the crowd groan and me wonder whether Djokovic really should spend so much time doing his infamous parodies of other players' neurotic service routines. Maybe instead he should develop one of his own.

So, Roddick was up 2-1 and Djokovic looked suddenly pretty darn beatable. Into the net Roddick started coming in the tiebreak and lost one point there. If at first you don't succeed, try, try again. Into the net again Roddick came and again was passed. Practice makes perfect, right?! So, as though he were in a practice session and simply working on his approach shots and volley, Roddick kept charging the net. And kept losing points.

Djokovic looks like the next real deal, just as Roddick once did. Yes, Roddick's won a Grand Slam, but he is perhaps the biggest underachiever on the men's tour, given his talents. He just makes bad tactical decisions on the court. Why isn't Roddick the next Sampras? It seems incredible to say at loud, but I really do think he has the game, just not the mind. The difference between their careers is huge if you look at the trophy case. But a few more points here and there and Roddick would be sitting with more Grand Slam titles, I firmly believe. Yes, tennis was mindlessly boring during Sampras' reign and serve, serve, serve victories. Yes, Federer is incredible and a joy to watch. But Roddick has missed many chances. Was he just using the Rogers Cup as practice for the U.S. Open? Will he use the U.S. Open as practice for the next Rogers Cup?

The really important question though is when, oh when, will we get to see Djokovic's much talked about impersonation of Sharapova's antics before she serves--facing the back of the stadium, looking at her racquet, approaching with an ugly scowl on her face. That I want to see!

Oh wait, it's on YouTube at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qR9pj6Op_KU&mode=related&search=. Heaven sent. He needs more work on the scowl though.