Bring It On

Novak Djokovic took the Rome Masters with a comfortable victory over Stanislas Wawrinka. Wawrinka took a top ten berth while Djokovic threw himself into the list of serious contenders for Roland Garros.

The Hamburg Masters is the final stop for most of the high rung players before the French Open. It will be the place where the dominant contender will be declared.

Roger Federer has a great record at Hamburg and defeated Rafael Nadal in last year's final (also ending his 81 match-winning streak on clay). I will refrain from throwing in my two cents and commenting on the draw (previous post - Just Shut Up!).

This tournament is a good one for qualifiers - two have reached the final in the last 8 years and for the last three years at least one has been reaching the second round or better. Hamburg however is not such a great tournament for the Spaniards, particularly since it has proved to be Federer's playground since 2002.

Just Shut Up!

It would happen. I said I was hoping for a Federer win at the Rome Masters and he lost 7-6(4) 7-6(7) to Radek Stepanek.



Radek Stepanek celebrating his victory, Rome 2008



I am jinxed. It is a conclusion I reached long ago when the Indian cricket team had a losing streak. At the famous NatWest tournament, in the final against England, I watched the cricket match long enough to realise that the Indian team had very slim chances of winning. Kaif and Yuvraj were the only proper batsman left, who could have dreamed of victory? I stopped watching and the next morning I woke up to celebrations of the team's historic win (and images of a shirtless Ganguly).

Fan rituals and superstitions always remind me of my Davis Cup experience in the summer of 2006.

For once the Davis Cup was being played in Mumbai so I was thrilled. The excitement levels were high because it was an India-Pakistan tie. Be it cricket or any other sport this always elicits extreme emotions from sports fans.

On paper the Indians looked by far the stronger team. The records were all in favour of India. They had never lost to Pakistan in a Davis Cup tie. And by the Pakistan captain’s own admission India was going into the tie 1-0 up because of the phenomenal doubles team of Paes and Bhupati.

Sports is nothing without upsets. On the final day the tie was evenly poised at 2-2 with only the deciding rubber to be played. To insure against defeat the Indian team captain - Leander Paes - stepped into the singles fray.

Paes, against Aqeel Khan of Pakistan, took the first two sets . During the third set the tide slowly changed. The heat was affecting both players. They took medical time-outs. When they came back Aqeel Khan was in control. He took the third set.

The fourth set began and it was clear that Paes was suffering. An official was overheard saying he was suffering from a wrist injury, a hamstring problem and cramps. He limped around the court. His serve was listless. He repeatedly tried drop shots to avoid running more than necessary. It worked a few times but then he tried to shut down points too early and the drop shots stopped working.

History was staring Pakistan in the face. The crowds began to trickle out. They didn’t want to witness Pakistan making history. When Paes was 0-5 down in the fourth set I couldn’t take it anymore. I walked out of the stands. I stood a little distance away waiting, hoping, for a roar from the crowd that would allow me to re-enter. It didn’t come so I went home.


I arrived home to see Leander Paes serving for the match. He won the match 6-4 7-6 3-6 0-6 6-1. I watched as he cried and wiped his face on the tri-colour draped around his shoulders. The commentators were calling it the greatest match ever. From an Indian perspective it was. And I had missed it.

I tried to console myself by saying that I had seen most of it but I knew I had missed the most important moments of the match. The really special moments were after the match. My family thought I was insane for leaving the match. Maybe I was. But just as a player is allowed their little superstitions can’t a fan have them too? It felt like Murphy’s Laws were playing out. Had I stayed there would the greatest match ever been in India’s favour? I will allow myself to think that if I had stayed I would have helped Pakistan to steal the tie from India.

I know it is stupid to assume that my actions can influence the results of Roger Federer's next match. And yet from my next blog I will refrain from making any predictions or expressing any hopes about the results.

Unbeatable?

It would happen. Nadal has enviable records on clay. And is virtually unbeatable. I guess I missed out the word 'virtually' in my last post.

Two days after I make sweeping statements about Nadal having no challengers along comes Juan Carlos Ferrero (pictured above) to make me eat my words.

7-5 6-1 read the final scoreboard and Nadal is out of the Rome Masters.

Nadal blames a foot injury for his loss. That makes him seem mortal, an idea that seems so alien during the clay court season.

So who will take his place? I will make no more predictions. After all my entire pick for this week's Bracket Challenge (ATP's competition where you predict the winner of each round of the ongoing Masters tournament) has gone down the drain.

Crossing my fingers for a Federer win though.

Rome Masters Preview

Is there any point?

King of Clay, Nadal, has shown no signs of being beatable in the lead up to the second Grand Slam of the year. He is the three-time defending champion and is unbeaten at the Rome Masters.

Rafael Nadal, Rome Masters, 2007

This is the home ground of the Spaniards - the title has remained with them for the last five years.

The stats all point in favour of a predictable result. With Federer struggling this season it seems like Nadal has few competitors for the title. Fernando Gonzalez and David Ferrer have found success during this year's clay season. But whether they can seriously be considered as contenders for the title is a different matter. Ferrer did push Nadal to three sets during the final of last week's Barcelona tournament. Fernando Gonzalez was the runner up at last year's final and is coming off a win at the BMW Open in Germany. Ferrer is in Federer's quarter of the draw and Gonzalez is in the same half. Nadal could face one of his three major contenders only in the finals.

Week after week Nadal adds his name to the list of tournament winners. There is no point dissecting the clay court tournament draws this year when there is only one French Open champion in sight.

Player Blogs

Dmitry Tursunov of Russia has registered his first win in four years on the Barcelona clay courts. He defeated Kevin Anderson 6-3 6-4.

The reason I choose to begin my blog with Tursunov's success is because it brings back pleasant memories from two years ago at Estoril.

The ATP website in 2006 began a Player's Blog section. The first player to blog was Ivan Ljubicic from the Chennai Open. Thereafter different players wrote about their experiences at tournaments around the world. It was an attempt to bring fans across the world closer to their favourite tennis players. It was an attempt that would have remained lackluster had it not been for Tursunov's blog from Estoril. The blog added a new dimension to the otherwise dull section. Players, before the landmark Estoril blog, would talk about what they ate, who they played, massages and other reportings of their more mundane activities. Tursunov's blog finally opened the gates to allow a more personal, intimate look at a player's life. It was humorous and gave an all round view of the tennis world.

The blogs on the ATP website have since become more and more sporadic and have now ceased. Today's tennis player has their own blog hosted on their own websites. While blogs on player websites have been popular - like Andy Murray's - they have not managed to have the same impact as the ATP blogs. One of the reasons of course is the fragmentation of readers as only fans of that player are likely to give it a read. Another is the lack of regularity of the individual player blogs.

If you visit the ATP website there is still a link to the blogs. Tursunov Tales, a separate section for ATP's appointed resident blogger, heads the page. I still visit Tursunov's original Estoril blog when I need a laugh. And the beginning of the clay court season is when I am most often reminded of the blog. After all, this is where Tursunov proclaimed, "“Clay is for girls!”

As we head into Mr. Nadal's home turf, let's hope we have a good season this year. Let's hope Tursunov and other clay-haters (the Americans) manage to salvage some pride on the red courts of Roland Garros. And let's hope for another cracking final at the French Open. After all Mr. Federer just won his first title of the year on this surface. So maybe we can expect an encore of last year's final.

http://www.atptennis.com/en/blog/2006/tursunov.asp