In Kuala Lumpur organisers has given wc to Marcos Baghdatis and Joachim “Pim-Pim” Johansson
Night is his demeanour. Marcos Baghdatis is remembered as well for the the latest ever finish at a grand-slam event as for parting hard. In 2008 his quarterfinal match against Lleyton Hewitt at the Australian Open ended at 4.33 am, when the night has come (and probably almost gone away) and the evening empires were vanishing. The extroverted Cypriot tamburine arrived, then 20-years-old, to play the Australian Open final against Roger Federer.
But he’s better known for his genuine sympathy, for his globe-trotter’s style considering aesthetic more relevant than result. Coming from a divided country, half Greek half Turkish, he summed up the Eastern and Western cultures, and gain enthusiastic fans from Athens to Rome to Kuala Lumpur.
His Hectorian battle against an “Achillesque” Agassi, at the last Us Open of his career, remains one of the best glimpse of his deepest essence. Marcos exuded the pleasure for being there and living such an emotion and the simple, slightly childish, hope that his entertainment didn’t end. But every bright dream comes to an end, and Andre won that match. Marcos was victim of the American’s play as well as of his cramps, signalling his flawless as a competitor an his not resolved hidiosynchrasis for the professional part of a professional athlete’s life.
He should encourage his relation with fitness. He should introduce more variation in his point construction strategies, because sudden down-the-line winners are only a counterproductive choice when you’re down a bit. And he should sacrifice a little part of his naivete and manage better the press conferences. Saying, before a clash against Nadal in Paris two year ago, that he can’t stand the Mallorcan game and that he saw a victory against him unlikely surely takes off pressures from your shoulder but give some more strength to your adversaries.
In Kuala Lumpur, where he was seeing engaged in club-hopping, but avoiding dance floor fearing injuries, he benefitted from a wild-card with another “desaparecido”, Joachim “Pim-Pim” Johansson.
Fitness was always his biggest problem, but for completely different reasons. Sidelined for shoulder surgeries, he decided to withdraw from professional tennis in 2008 deciding to comeback next October at the Stockholm Open. Now he’s facing the second ATP event since then and mantain the same old racquet he used when served 51 aces losing to Andre Agassi, the RDX500.
Intriguingly the 27 former top-tenner is opposed to Lleyton Hewitt in the first round of the Malaysian Open. They met each-other only once, at the 2004 Us Open semifinal. Then Johansson dated Jaslyn, Hewitt’s sister: a story finished in 2005. The Swede passed a pair of Chritmases at the Hewitt family home in Adelaide, practising and playing golf with him and his coach.
Rafa Nadal against Roger Federer on the Spanish clay (the odds that Costa will choose the “red” to host Switzerland are great), Novak Djokovic on front of his Serbian supporters facing Andy Roddick. Two hot-spots for the next Davis Cup first round, programmed for the weekend before the Indian Wells Masters 1000.
It will be a key decision for the actual n.1, winner this year over the Mallorcan in Madrid. In the last five years, Federer has never played the Davis first round ties; this time surface and hosting city could suggest him to go on with the same attitude, but the value he says to assign to the team competition could convince him to act differently. This is one of the last chances he has to lift up the Dwight’s Pot. And sacrificing a bit of condition towards Indian Wells could become an acceptable and sufferable counter-indication.
The eventual winner will face France or Germany. The Bleus has the ground chance and greater odds to pass through, considered the ranking gaps, nonetheless the “debutant” Simon and Monfils encountered poor figures respectively against Berdych (in the WG first round loss to Czechs) and against the 2006 Wimbledon junior champion, the Dutch Thiemo De Bakker, in the playoff. Tsonga saved French honour and pride and will prepare the tie against Germany (reminding the thrilling 1982 World Cup semifinal) with a perfect record of 6-0 in Davis cup rubbers. In a match probably played on the clay, Kohlschreiber could become the strenght of Germans, while Haas, handing glimpses of his old style and standards at Wimbledon, could face difficulties in best-to-5 singles with long rallies. Besides, he hasn’t played in Davis since 2007 when he surrendered with a periodic 2-6 to Igor Andreev.
Russia and India appears like a generational clash. Without Safin, Russia based his hopes on the always reliable Davydenko and on Andreev, also if he became the icon of the Israelian fall with the sticker labelling “Russia” melancholically pending from the back of his shirt. Tursunov is the best doubles player, but this seems a point already assigned to India: Bhupathi and Paes played 25 Davis doubles and lost only twice, being unbeaten since 1996. Devvarman, the ex Ncaa Champion, and the child prodigy Yuki Bhambri, junior n.1, doesn’s anyway seems a real menace for Tarpishev’s men.
For the third time in four years the draw has coupled Argentina and Sweden, i.e Robin Soderling, firt man to beat Nadal at the Roland Garros, and Juan Martin Del Potro, recent Us Open champion over an unusually nervous Roger Federer. In the previous four meetings, host team has always won. This time, above all if Nalbandian won’t be present, as it seem possible, the rule appears meant to be confirmed. The match will be played in Sweden, probably on the most ice-like surface among the regular ones.
In the low part of the draw Novak Djokovic could search his revenge over Andy Roddick, who defeated the Serb three times this season. The pot gave the Serbian the home advantage, but they have to choose the surface, and that’s not such an easy decision to make. They should actually opt for the clay: in this case, Patrick McEnroe could decide to give Sam Querrey, one of the rare Americans with some decent result on this surface, his Davis debut.
So we could see a thrilling derby, with not so negligible geopolitical meanings and implications, betweens Serbs and Croats. Karlovic and Cilic should overpower Ecuador (seeing the ranking, the feeblest team in the World Group). South Americans, led by the Lapentti brothers, would have had some chance playing at home. Against Brazil, Nico defeated Bellucci in his 37th Davis tie; in Croatia he won’t repeat the miracle.
Chile awaits eagerly the possible revenge in Israel to forget an embarassing defeat haunting them even nowadays. In the Yom Kippur, Dudi Sela stunned Fernando Gonzalez and Israel gained an historical passage to the World Group. And this year semifinal was only the last chapter of a marvellous tale. Now the match will be played on South American clay with the significant uncertainty about the presence of Mano de Pedra. The best Chilean player announced in March his intention to break the contract with the Federation after the president made public the amount granted to players. He lost the last three matches, but the captain Gildemeister promised to try everything possible to convince him come back.
In the last tie of the draw, the finalists of Czech Republic will travel to Belgium hoping in a great day of the proverbially fickle Stepanek and Berdyck. Belgium, instead, is praying to recover their n.1, Krzystof Vliegen (famous for a dramatic comeback against Safin from 0-6 1-3 in 2007 Montecarlo Masters), missing the playoff against Ukraine.
Off topic: Andy Murray is more and more resolute to abandon Great Britain to his destiny in the Euro/African group II. In the playoff against Poland the Scotster won his two singles but saw his wrist problem worsening, and it wasn’t enough. Great Britain is pathologically uncapable to put beside him another decent player: they unuccessfully tried Goodall, Eaton, Bogdanovic and so on. But a single, eloquent data, remains: when the contributions of Messrs Henman, Rusedski and Murray are taken out of the country's Davis Cup results for the last 20 years, Britain have failed to win a single match.
Croatia lost to Czech Republic in the Davis Cup semifinal 0-3. Probably they have paid the not so lungimirant choice to play on the indoor clay at Porec, in the same arena where they outreached the United States in June, when Blake surrenderd twice, after as many epic five setter, to Cilic and Karlovic. The miracle hasn't repeated, fatally obstacled by another unalterable, infallible law of modern tennis: the curse of the aces record.
In 12 of the last 13 matches when a player equalled or improved the record for the greatest number of aces served in a single match, he finished to lost the encounter. All the top-5 record holders established this not-envied primate losing the match. Ivo Karlovic had already got the byline on this sub-Hall of Fame-category twice. In 2005 he surrendered to the Italian Daniele Bracciali after hitting 51 aces: the double-specialist from Tuscany won 6-7 7-6 3-6 7-6 12-10.
On the grass, you could object, serving so many aces could be easier than on slower surfaces, and anyway that was not an absolute record: the unlucky Swedish Joachim Johansson, now retired after a series of injuries, lost to Andre Agassi, the best returner in the modern era, 67 76 76 64, at the 2005 Australian Open R16. This year he did better against Hewitt, capable to show his "Rusty" face coming back from two sets down against the Croat and surviving to 55 aces.
The same fate attended Richard Krajcek at the 1999 Us Open: 49 aces and a defeat in a dramatic five setter against Yevgeny Kafelnikov (7-6 7-6 3-6 1-6 7-6). Goran Ivanisevic, with his venomous left-handed first serve held the record until 2003, ex aequo with the Australian Mark Philippoussis (only exception to the rule, having he won against Agassi that match), losing notwithstanding 46 aces, to Magnus Norman in 1997 Wimbledon 2R; on the same grass, on the SW19 Central Court he had already failed to win the 1992 final to Andre Agassi: 37 aces hadn't helped Mister Ace, so labelled after the 1477 aces served in a single season. Even Guga Kuerten lost to the Canadian Daniel Nestor in a Davis Cup rubber when he served a respectable amount of 46 aces.
Until two days ago, the absolute record in tennis belonged to the American Ed Kauder, who served 59 aces against his compatriot Ham Richardson in the 1955 Usa Championships first round, on the grass at Forest Hills. Obviously it was Richardson to win 6-2 3-6 9-11 10-8 6-0.
Ivo Karlovic has established a threshold diffilultly surmountable in the immediate future: 78 aces (to be clear, 19 games and a half played so that his adversary doesn't touch the ball) against Radek Stepanek, in the first singles rubber of the Davis semifinal, losing 76 67 76 67 16-14 after six hours of foolish war of nerves, in the longest Davis Cup rubber since the tiebreak was introduced in 1989, conferming all the fears of the Croat giant in the "jeu decisif". Yet this conclusion, this solution should have been likened to by the 6'10" NBA-style batsman. Last year he played 57 tiebreak out of 58 matches, and this year he's already reached quota 40.
Inevitably, if you consider that he, at 30th August, he registered the 87% of first serve points and only 22% of 1st serve return points. Practically, he doesn't return while the others have to see his serve before imagining to touch the ball or send it to the other side of the net. His mental strength sustaining him in serving like a machine (against Stepanek he displayed 210 km/h angled aces after over five hours like he had just finish finish his warm-up rallies) usually abandons him when he most needs it: he's the recordman of five setters played in career and, at the same time, the player who has lost most of them.
In this few data we could see the essence of Ivo, with his contrasts and his solid work ethic. You can't arrive to be n.14 in the world ranking, you can't defeat Roger Federer as he did last year in Cincinnati without maximize your physical and technical skills.
Evidently you can't expect a 207 cm player has in the feet speed his atout. But now he's effectively an extremely better player respect to 2003, when he revealed to the world defeating the title-holder Lleyton Hewitt at Wimbledon. He was a journeyman, then, a 24-years-old at his first Grand Slam match and at his 11th Atp-level tournament. He lost the first set, but he dug deep and blitzed the Australian wrapping-up a 1-6 7-6 6-3 6-4 win. Hewitt became the first defending Wimbledon men's champion in the Open era to lose in the first round and only the second to exit so early in the tournament 126-year history after Manolo Santana, beaten by Charlie Pasarell in 1967.
"When I was younger" Karlovic said, "my parents haven't so much money to rent the courts, so the only thing I could afford was entering when everyone else was gone out and try serving for hours". This training undeniably helped him, but it's not his only quality. Serving so many aces, in such a long match, is a demonstration of character and tenacity. Besides, the lack of mobility forced him to learn coming to the net, to avoid playing defensive strokes from the baseline. Also if he built a decent forehand, Karlovic perfected an efficient net play, with precise back-spin approaches, helped by his frightening "wing-span".
And here comes the contrasts of his personality. His vaguely menacing silhouette hide a witty man: "I's so tall that in Usa they mistake me for an NBA champion. But there's an advantage of being 6'10": when I go out with my friends it's impossible that we lose ourselves. I'm their navigator. Contemporarily I can't hide myself from the police if I should get into trouble".
He showed the same wit against Tommy Haas at Stockholm two years ago, in a drop serve, a sort of tribute to Michael Chang and his underhand serve in the 1989 Roland Garros final that drove Lendl mad.
The fragile giant, the King of Aces often falling down one step from victory, has to fight with stutter, reduced but not completely erased yet. But he just recorded some rap songs and in July he realized a duet with Novak Djokovic.
This simple headline testifies the greatness of Juan Martin Del Potro, capable to dethronize the five times reigning champion and by many indicated as the Goat (even if this label appears at least controversial, not to say stupid).
I saw this 6'6 shy Argentine two years ago, in Rome. He lost in the qualification rounds: he withdrew cause of a back injury, one of a long series of physical inconvenients. My first impression, seeing this young and tall guy with timid green eyes and long straight blond hairs was probably the same I had admiring Tsonga: will he be able to continue his development? He was capable to thwart his teenager adversaries in the juniors event, but his fragile skeleton would be able to support his ambitions, his dream of greatness? Monday I had the answer, the most astonishing answer I could expect to receive.
His stunning forehands should be labelled as non conventional weapons, he could impress an extremely heavy rotation causing a lethal acceleration, above all when he hit inside-out from the center of the baseline to the right angle. The appearent lazy mood hided an iron-made self confidence, not nocked by the tough openings, when Federer started the nth repeat performance meant to satisfy his narcissistical ego. Exceptional variations, chopped cross-court backhand passing shots, volleys and demi-volleys: although he continued to serve with percentages you could register in a provincial championship first round, that showing off seemed enough. But it was not. Del Potro believed in himself till the last point, his game was not the most agreeable to aesthetically educated eyes, but got is job done.
Roger lost his match at 5-4 30 all in the second set on the first of two carbon-copy down the line forehand passes. He started quarreling with the chair umpire and the Hawk Eye and simply lost his mind. His show, so perfect, so straight, transformed itself in an improvised and scheming performance. The King felt the earth sliding down his shoes, saw his narcissistical ego shattered with the mirror of his apparently asettical beauty. Palito multiplied his forehand winners, as many stabs to the ex-King wounded pride. So rattled was the Swiss to launch an unusual before than angry complaint towards Jake Gerner, the umpire, after he allowed the Argentine a call late (he took a lot longer than what is allowed) in the third set: "No, it’s too late,” an angry Federer said. “I wasn’t even able to challenge after two seconds and he takes ten seconds every time. Do you have any rules in there?”
And reprimanded a gesticulating Gerner in this way: "“Don’t do that with your hand. Don’t tell me to be quiet. I don’t give a s*** what he said. Don’t f***ing tell me the rules.”
The match, surely not the most enchanting of this edition (for real spectacle see Navarro-Dent, the best show of the 2009 Us Open), was by no doubt the greatest upset in the last ten years. Roger, benefitting from the Roddick indecent backhand volley, found a real contender for his next Grand Slam campaigns. Anyone who beats Nadal and Federer on consecutive days is a force to be reckoned with.
His renewed consciousness made him the most possible danger for the Big Four in the big events, cause they would face him in quarters. He can now win other slams, probably not on the clay, because his fisiological lack of horizontal mobility, and his scarce confidence in his backhand that brings him hit forehands from the left side and cover more free court. But on hardcourts and on the grass he's a menace for everyone, above all for the half-dull Djokovic or the Higueras-like Murray of this period.
The Goat (or what many considers as the Goat) lost to the best of his generation, beaten in the previous 6 meetings (also if he went two sets up at the 2009 Roland Garros with 2 hours and a half of incredible tennis).
Federer-Del potro was not the most thrilling of the Grand Slam final, the game quality was complessively a bit more than decent; but surely it has been the best Us Open final since 1999 when Agassi surprised Martin coming back from 2 sets to 1 down (the last concluded with a five setter before the yesterday's clash). This was anyway the most surprising final since 2000, when another first-timer, Safin, stunned Pete Sampras. So Del Potro, 20 years and 355 days old, has become the fifth youngest player to win this tournament
Roger Federer lost a great chance. For 90 minutes he played almost perfectly, also if not in the enchanting and intriguing way he defeated Djokovic in the
semifinals. But incredibly the Swiss went out from the match at 5-4 30-0 in the second set. He was nervous for an ace not validated because Del Potro, ready
to return, complained that he was disturbed by something not better defined while Federer was launching the ball. And then, when an astonishing down-the-line
passing shot bounced on the line, Federer claimed the ball was out but the Hawk Eye confirmed the umpire decision.
From there Roger has never been the same, and the match developed very similarly to the recent Australian Open final. Del Potro started hitting his proverbial
forehands with stubborness and precision, he "drew the lines" more and more. It was surprising how often the Palito went hitting his forehands on the
backhands side and how many kilometres he ran to cover the court. Palito from the secon set displayed all his full force groundstrokes that overpowered Nadal
and definitely abandoned the shackles affecting him in the first set.
DP served not so well (even if he concluded with the 65% of first serves), because he handed 22 break points, saving 17 of them. Federer was conditioned by
the only 13 aces, by the less than 50% of points on his second serve and above all by the 11 double faults. But in the third Federer gave a glimpse of what inexperience could do when DP gifted the Swiss two consecutive breaks because of two bleeding double faults in a row. As had been the case in 2005 (vs. Roddick) and ’06 (vs. Agassi) US Open finals, upon losing the second set Federer had hit back to regain the lead.
The World No. 6 defied his heavy legs to continue to work Federer and was rewarded with a break of serve to love in the fifth game and, in the fourth set tiebreak was gifted an early mini-break by a Federer double fault and did not look back. A bit off topic: Federer had yet to lose a tiebreak in a Grand Slam final before facing del Potro, and was 166-4 in career when he wins first sets.
But Federer continued to lose chances on break points, in what revealed to be his Achilles heel against Nadal and against the Argentine and costed him dearly. While Del Potro, in what would be his last service game of the final, showed no signs of nerves holding to love. In the end Roger handed him two match points he saved before serving the 11th double fault of his match and seeing the last backhand flow long.
Roger passed through to his 17th Grand Slam final in the last 18th majors after a 76 75 75 victory after Novak Djokovic. But in everyone's minds, more than the winners, more than the aces or the diffulties on his serve (3 points out of the first 16), more than his records, will remain the between the legs passing shot to go 65 040 on Djoko's serve in the final set. A solution he already showed succesfully against the Italian Bracciali in Dubai and against Schalken in Holland. Here's the point.
Probably he learnt this stroke from the Magician Fabrice Santoro who used the same weapon against the Swiss in the 2005 Us Open 2nd round.
In the other semifinal, Del Potro profited from a stuttering Nadal, affected by an abdominal strain making him multiplicate errors with serve, too many counter-strategical doublefaults handed the Palito fundamental breaks, and with his forehand, traditionally his most solide side.
The fifth seeded from Tandil will now play his first Grand Slam final. And Federer will now face a "debutant" in a major final for the third time in a row in Flushing Meadows, after Djokovic and Murray, the sixth considering all the four majors.
Now Federer, defeating Del Potro, would become the first to conquer six Us Open title in a row since Bill Tilden (1920-1925), and the fourth to win six Grand Slam titles after the same Tilden, Richard Sears (who won American Championships from 1881 to 1887) and the legendary William Renshaw (six times winner at Wimbledon in the period 1881-1886). But, above all, he would become the first to win two Grand Slam titles at least six times.
Federer-Djokovic H2h are 8-4 in Federer's advantage, but the first four happened when Djoko was little more than a kid. Federer appears anyway the favourite. Firstly because he hasn't lost at Flushing Meadows since 2003 (to Nalbandian). Secondly because here this year he showed glimpses of a perfect tennis, above all against Soderling in the first two sets (match completed with 28 aces) and hasn't lost his serve since the third round against Hewitt. The Serb has never been convincing, neither against Verdasco, beaten more from his aches than Nole's game. In this fundamental (return to second ball) Djoko is better than Roger, who in turn is a more efficient returner to first serves and, anyway, has more strokes to make defensive situations turn into attacking opportunities. Bet: Federer in four
Nadal-Del Potro Nadal is 4-2 up in the h2h but has lost in the last two times the two have met each other. Even considering not so meaningful the defeat in Montreal, with Nadal returning from a long injury, the match played in Miami, with Del Potro coming back from 2 breaks down to seal the victory in a third set tiebreaker, gives more useful suggestions. That match, in fact, is played on the best of three distance, and in contests like that the Palito from Tandil is favourite. But when the match is 3-out-of-5, Rafa has more aces. If the first semifinal will be more skilled, more technical, this will be a physical, agonistic clash: and in fighting Rafa has no rival in the circuit. Rafa won't have an easy duty. He shall tame Del Potro's serve (and it's never easy) and he shall be able, during the rally, to play deeper than he did in last matches to maintain Del Potro well behind the baseline profiting from his extrem top-spin forehands and, possibly, sometimes try one-handed chopped backhands, like Cilic did in the first two sets against JMDP making him mad. While Palito could benefit from his great returns (and Rafa has in the serve the strokes of relative weakness): he shall risk more and remain calm if this strategy won't have immediate results. Nadal shoud search percentage more than direct points on serve. In the end, he will win who will be abler to nail his adversary to the backhand diagonal, the less preferred by both players. Bet: Nadal in four
