Men’s game high in quality of play
Posted: Saturday, May 30, 2009 12:08 PM
Observations and reflections from the French Open:
1. Watch Andy Murray, Juan Martin Del Potro, Fernando Verdasco, Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, and Gael Monfils along with viable veterans Andy Roddick, Nikolay Davydenko, and Fernando Gonzalez and you realize the men’s game is at an all-time peak in terms of quality of play. The physical demands of success are unprecedented, more reason to appreciate what we see from Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer.
2. Pink shirt aside, Rafael Nadal continues as the most stylish man to grace the red clay of Roland Garros. It was awe-inspiring as well as somewhat depressing to watch his thorough beating of Lleyton Hewitt on Friday. Hewitt was like many men over the last five years, coming to the court with the hope of employing tactics that might unveil some weakness in Nadal. But the great Nadal is a fabulous starter, and within a handful of games, he had communicated to all that Hewitt had no chance.
3. I talked to Roger Federer after his Thursday match, and he projects an air of relative unconcern over any dip in his play. Federer’s grace, politeness, and decency should not obscure a robust self-confidence. The only damage to Federer is if he confuses self-confidence with denial. Federer devoted his time post-Miami (meltdown) to fitness and conditioning, and declares his efforts a rousing success. Winning Madrid was a slight confidence boost, only exceeded by his draw (quite unassuming).
4. The French Tennis Federation schedules matches with more home bias than the other home country federations do at the other majors. Some of the players afforded main show court playing time borders on the absurd. Meanwhile, former World No. 1 and French Open champion Juan Carlos Ferrero played Friday on an outer court than is nearly in Switzerland. The result: far too many empty seats on the show courts (the U.S. Open suffers the same problem in the daytime).
5. Justine Henin appeared at a sponsor event Thursday, and declared no interest in a comeback. The words only heightened the problems in the women’s game as without a Williams sister in the mix, the results are not relevant.
6. Maria Sharapova’s first week in Paris was huge for the WTA. Short on match play after missing nine months with a shoulder injury, Sharapova has lost none of her champion’s fight. She commands both attention and respect, qualities in shorter supply these days on the WTA tour.
7. Should anyone be surprised by Venus Williams’ third-round exit? In 13 French Opens, she has advanced past the quarterfinals just once, in 2002, when she lost to younger sister Serena in the final.
8. Has anyone asked if the Williams sisters are thinking of a doubles calendar Grand Slam? They entered the doubles in Paris, and just two hours after her singles loss, Venus rebounded to team with Serena for a second-round win over a team anchored by Agnes Szavay, who had ousted Venus. How random is that?
9. Where have they gone? I saw Sebastien Grosjean here. He had shoulder surgery, has spent nine months rehabbing, and is trying one more run. He played doubles here with Nicolas Lapentti, and has accepted wild cards to Queen’s and Wimbledon. One regret is I didn’t have the chance to ask him about the famous 2001 match with Andre Agassi and Bill Clinton (wouldn’t’ we all love to know the truth).
10. Another reason I like Andy Roddick is his tweet after learning that his second-round match was scheduled on a tiny outer court. “I haven’t done anything in this tournament to earn courtesies like a bigger court.” Realistic, sensible reactions are not common in tennis.
