Tennis World 11 by Coppini Trading

TennisWorld

INTERNATIONAL number 11 ISSN 2075-6526

The End Of An Era Elena Dementieva Retires

From Princess To Queen Caroline Wozniacki Is The New World Number One

Juan Martin Del Potro’s Comeback Will He Be Able To Reach The Top 10 Again?

The Greatest Player(s) Of All Time We Analyse Bjorn Borg’s Credentials

Interviews

Thomas Muster Ryan Harrison

Pro Advice

Which Is The Best Backhand? (Part 2) How To Hit The Perfect Volley (Part 2)

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TENNIS WORLD Published by Matchball Tennis

Editor’s Letter

EDITOR & DIRECTOR Federico Coppini federico.coppini@matchballtennis.com

IF YOU WANT TO, YOU CAN

CONTRIBUTORS Pietie Norval, Danie Morkel, Matt Traverso, Jaco Burger, Wendy Chadwick (SATA) COLLABORATION Tennis World is published in collaboration with Matchpoint Tennis Magazine (Italy). Special thanks to director Daniele Azzolini and his editing team. Matchpoint Tennis Magazine, Via Santa Giovanna Elisabetta 36/F 00189 Roma Tel: + 00 39 063 638 2189 segreteria@mpmtennis.com Nelize Ernst – Subscriptions & Advertising Sales Translation services by MV Squared Vittoria Jooste - info@mvsquared.co.za COPY AND CONTENT EDITOR: Philip Maré CREATIVE: Simone “Fela” Micheletti BUSINESS DETAILS MatchballTennis (Pty) Ltd 85 Jonkershoek Road Stellenbosch, South Africa info@matchballtennis.com ADVERTISING advertising@matchballtennis.com www.tennisworldusa.org

In this issue

Each of us has a vast pool of resources, but at times we seem to forget it. Although this may be tough to comprehend and accept, it is the truth. Every month our magazine talks about great tennis players who have given their all to the sport and made the most of their talents and abilities. They believe in themselves each day and face difficult situations, but that doesn’t stop or deter them – they only step up their efforts in the face of adversity. Are these people better and more intelligent or more talented than others? To some extent they are. But not in the general sense of the concept: they are better than the average tennis player because they have been able to recognise, understand, and above all utilise the resources they have within them.

Borg

They have truly believed in themselves and in the goals they have set. With this obstinacy and determination, they have created something which is quite simply exceptional. This is one of the pillars on which I base my life, especially in recent times, since I have seen the erosion of many of the old “creeds” on which I had based my project (this tennis magazine). I now firmly believe in this short and concise mantra, because I know from experience – and from what I have seen happening to many other people – that this is the only way to get where you want, to realise what you wish to realise, and achieving the goals you have set for yourself.

Dementieva

However, it is not easy to believe in this and generally it is not simple either. It implies the acceptance of our share of responsibility for the world that we see around us. This can be quite difficult. Everything that happens to me – good or bad – is entirely my own responsibility, because at the moment this is the only positive attitude and the one that helps me live my life. As a consequence, I will never blame time, society, the government, race, the crisis, my mother, my partner or whoever for what happens to me. Even if I did, what would that do to change the situation? Nothing! In the end, our success or failure is entirely up to us, and we have to marshal our inner strength and resources to make the most of what we have. Each of us is able to do this, it is only a matter of realising that.

Remember: if you want, you can. But if you don’t want to, you won’t.

Federico Federico Coppini federico.coppini@matchballtennis.com

Muster

TENNISWORLD

Contents

TennisWorld #11

News 14 Tennis News 15 Gossip Player Features 16 40 44 45 60

Elena Dementieva Juan Martin Del Potro Rubens Bemelmans Caroline Wozniacki Bjorn Borg

Tournament News 18 20 23 30

WTA Championships The Asian Swing of the Pro Tours Beijing Open Shanghai Masters 1000

Features 48 54 56 59 71 75 76

The Unfortunate Williams Sisters The Taller The Better The Future of Canadian Tennis Does Hawk-Eye Need A Pair Of Glasses? Footcare for the tennis player The “life-tennis” parallel Classic Tennis Reads: Pete Sampras

Interviews 36 Thomas Muster 50 Ryan Harrison 84 Johan Koorts Pro Talk

64 67 69 72 73

The Art and Science of the Perfect Volley (Part 2) The Better Backhand Debate (Part 2) Goal-Setting In Tennis You Buy What You Think About Foot Care For Tennis Players

Photo: Melchiorre Di Giacomo (c) Matchpoint Tennis Magazine

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Photo: Melchiorre Di Giacomo (c) Matchpoint Tennis Magazine

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Photo: Melchiorre Di Giacomo (c) Matchpoint Tennis Magazine

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Photo: Melchiorre Di Giacomo (c) Matchpoint Tennis Magazine

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News

Unstoppable Wozniacki ATP Tour

Asian Surprises There were many unexpected surprises on the Asian swing of the ATP World Tour, with a number of upsets rocking the tennis world. The most shocking of all was Rafael Nadal’s loss to unheralded compatriot Guillermo Garcia-Lopez, who went on to win the title in Bangkok. The 27 year-old from La Roda also reached the quarter-finals in Tokyo, where he was ultimately defeated by Viktor Troicki. Troicki faced Nadal in the semi-finals, and very nearly caused yet another upsetting loss for the Spaniard. In a tough match that lasted more than two hours, Troicki looked like a Top 10 player as he pushed Nadal to the very brink. The world number one held on for the victory, how-

WTA Tour The end of the WTA season was dominated by one name: Caroline Wozniacki. She won the events in Tokyo and Beijing and clinched the world number one spot, and then proceeded to reach the final at the WTA Championship. There she lost to Kim Clijsters, but the year definitely belonged to the Dane, who now rules the Tour in the absence of the Williams sisters. One of the most interesting stories of the Asian swing of the WTA Tour concerns Tamarine Tanasugarn and Kimiko Date-Krumm. Their final at the HP Open was the oldest one ever recorded, with the two women combining for a total of 73 years. Tanasugarn eventually prevailed, robbing Date of the opportunity to become the first 40-year old to ever win a Tour-level title. Billie Jean King, who triumphed in Birmingham in 1983 at the age of 39 years and 7 months, remains the oldest woman to win an event at this level. Still, Date-Krumm did set a few other records during the week. By beating Sam Stosur (ranked at eight in the world), she became the

ATP METZ / ATP BUCAREST / ATP BANGKOK Simon Finds Form In Metz Open de Moselle, Metz, France 20-26 September 2010 Euro 450.000 – Cemento indoor SINGOLARE 1st Round: (6)P. Kohlschreiber (GER) b. (q)T. Fabbiano (ITA) 64 63. Quarter-Finals: (6)P. Kohlschrei- ber (GER) b. (1)(WC)M. Cilic (CRO) 64 61; (8)G. Simon (FRA) b. X. Malisse (BEL) 75 46 61; (4)R. Gasquet (FRA) b. (7)T. Robredo (ESP)76(3) 76(5); (q)M. Zverev (GER) b. J. Nieminen (FIN) 76(0) 63 Semi-finals: (8)G. Simon (FRA) b. (6)P. Kohlschreiber (GER) 63 62; (q)M. Zverev (GER) b. (4)R. Gasquet (FRA) w/o. Final: (8)G. Simon (FRA) b. (q)M. Zverev (GER) 63 62. Doubles Final: (ALT)D. Brown/R. Wassen (JAM/NED) b. (2)M. Melo/B. Soares(BRA) 63 63.

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ever, and had a mercifully easy match against Gael Monfils in the final. In Kuala Lumpur, Mikhail Youzhny continued the awesome form he’s enjoyed in 2010 by clinching the title against Andrey Golubev in a third set tie-break. Golubev had dismissed both Robin Soderling and David Ferrer, and came within a few points of his second title of the year and third upset of the week. Hometown favourite French Gilles Simon triumphed at the European event in Metz during this period, and Juan Ignacio Chela played a good tournament in Bucharest to claim his second title of the season. first 40 year-old to beat a Top 10 player. She also disposed of Shahar Peer in the semi-finals – no mean feat, as the Israeli is ranked 13. Over in Linz, Ana Ivanovic continued her comeback with a remarkable tournament win. It came exactly two years after her last title, and is the reward for the Serb’s exceptional hard work over the past twelve months. The manner in which she won it is perhaps as impressive as the victory itself: she destroyed Patty Schnyder in the final, and looked every inch the Top 10 player that she once was. It will be very interesting to see if she can carry this success over into next season.

Chela Gets A Double Victory In Bucarest BCR Open Romania, Bucarest 20-26 September, 2010 Euro 420.200 1st Round: T. Kamke (GER) b. F. Fognini (ITA) 63 75; (q)S. Vagnozzi (ITA) b. (WC)M. Copil (ROU) 76(4) 64; (WC)A. Ungur (ROU) b. (7)A. Seppi (ITA) 36 76(6) 64; F. Volandri (ITA) b. L. Kubot (POL) 63 60 2nd Round: (8)J. Chardy (FRA) b. (q)S. Vagnozzi 62 64; M. Granollers (ESP) b. F. Volandri 46 75 61; (3)P. Stara- ce b. (WC)V. Crivoi (ROU) 46 76(6) 64. Quarter-Finals: (1)A. Montanes (ESP) b. (8)J. Chardy (FRA) 63 16 63; (4)J.I. Chela (ARG) b. B. Phau (GER) 63 63; M. Granollers (ESP) b. (3)P. Starace (ITA) 36 76(7) 64; (q)P. Andujar (ESP) b. P. Cuevas 64 64 Semi-finals: (4)J.I. Chela (ARG) b. (1)A. Montanes (ESP) 61 63; (q)P. Andujar (ESP) b. M. Granollers (ESP) 76(5) 46 64. Final: (4)J.I. Chela (ARG) b. (q)P. Andujar (ESP) 75 61. Doubles Final: (3)J. Chela/L. Kubot b. (2)M.Granollers/S.Ventura 62 57 (13-11).

Federer’s sister also has twins

Lucky number ten

Apart from being a father to twins, Roger Federer is now also an uncle to some. His sister Diana, who works in the US as a nurse, recently gave birth to twins, a boy and girl named Roman and Emilie respectively. Roger, who is Diana’s younger brother, only saw his niece and nephew for the first time when he competed at the Basel Indoor event in his home town.

The Bryan brothers are no strangers to winning titles, but the one they won on the tenth of October was a little special. It was their tenth of the year, and came on 10/10/10. They defeated Mariusz Fyrstenberg and Marcin Matkowski in the Tokyo final 6-1, 7-6. “The numbers have been great for us this year,” Bob Bryan said afterwards. “To win our tenth title on the tenth day of the tenth month of 2010 is pretty crazy. We were aware of that before the match and we wanted to win at any cost.”

Karolina Jovanovic poses for Playboy

Serena plans her return to the tennis Serena Williams, who has been out with a foot injury since Wimbledon, has already made plans to get her 2011 season started. Her first event of the year will be the 23rd edition of the Hopman Cup, which takes place in Perth in January. She will play alongside John Isner in preparation for the Australian Open, where she is the defending champion. The pair might also be called on for the 2012 Olympics in London, seeing as the mixed doubles discipline will again be in the mix when the Games kick off in two years’ time. Novak Djokovic and Ana Ivanovic will represent Serbia, while Francesca Schiavone and Potito Starace will represent Italy. Belgian Justine Henin and Australian Lleyton Hewitt are also expected to take part, but their respective partners have not yet been confirmed.

Karolina Jovanovic, the 22 year-old pro from Serbian, has never really made her mark on the tennis world. However, she recently made quite an impression when she posed for the Serbian edition of Playboy. Her highest tennis ranking was 404 in 2007, but she was sidelined with a serious knee injury for quite some time after that. She has since returned to the sport, but has obviously found other ways to fill her time as well.

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End of an Era

Elena Dementieva Retires By LeCorbu Vale

ood girls go to heaven, bad girls go everywhere. Perhaps this is why Elena Dementieva has accomplished less than she had potential for. Perhaps this is why, on the day of her retirement, we are left with the bitter aftertaste of a career that could have been glowing and instead only sparkled occasionally. Her effective baseline game, so elegant and precise, was badly let down by inadequate skills at the net. She was fast on the court and had great movement, and was able to instantly turn defense into offense. Her style of play was ideally suited to hard courts, where she won nine of her 16 trophies. But her serve was her real weakness, and she routinely committed close to 20 double faults in a match. Elena never had Sharapova’s feistiness or Henin’s talent.

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Nor did she possess the passion of the Williams sisters or Ivanovic’s slightly stubborn arrogance. Instead, she has always been the epitome of the good girl: her education, style, sportsmanship and loyalty to her homeland were her trademarks. Even her beauty did not – as with so many other players – overshadow her exploits on the court. She didn’t spend more time in photos shoots than in practice, and never delighted the tabloids with torrid love affairs. In short, she was an old school tennis star, who believed that sports stars aren’t models and that the racquet should

always do the talking. Dementieva was, for most of her career, coached in one way or another by her mother. There’s no denying that is worked well – up to a point. Many observers believe that if she had gone with a more experienced coach she would have enjoyed much greater successes on the bigger stages. Nevertheless, mum Dementieva is one of the rare examples of the non-psychopathic tennis parent. She was supportive without being overwhelming, and always had the best interests of her daughter at heart. Elena is the good girl with her head firmly screwed on her shoulders. She is the reliable colleague who executes her task meticulously and is the last to leave the office. The perfect daughter that a mother never has to worry about. But while she might have been the ideal child off the court, she had her problems on it. Her greatest weakness was a men-

tal one, and she often struggled to find her best tennis when it truly mattered. The most obvious examples of this are her two Slam finals: in 2004 at Roland Garros against Anastasia Myskina and at Flushing Meadows against Svetlana Kuznetsova. The Paris final was

manage to tame her nerves was the 2008 Olympics, where she won the gold medal against all odds. When asked if she would trade that victory for a Grand Slam one, she simply says “no.” Many think it is a small lie, but knowing Dementieva it is likely the truth. For her, who grew up watching Soviet and Russian triumphs at the Olympics, the Games were the ultimate proving ground. Indeed, she always played her best tennis when she was playing at home or for her country. One of her most famous victories came against a red-hot Serena Williams in 2007 in Moscow, where she showed the kind of mental fortitude one needs to win a Slam.

perhaps the most perplexing, as she had played an awesome tournament up until the championship match. But once play started on that final Sunday, she completely fell apart. She later admitted that she hardly slept the previous night, and that she was so nervous she could hardly breathe. A similar scenario played out at the US Open, where she could never find her rhythm, against Kuznetsova. The one time that she did

It is no surprise that Dementieva chose to spring her retirement on the world at the last possible moment – the year-end WTA Championships. She did not want a farewell tour – as Marat Safin embarked on – or any special considerations. All she wanted was to thank everyone for their support and quietly slip into civilian life. Apparently she had already made the decision at the beginning of the year, convinced that her 29 years are already too many for pace of the modern game. Dementieva says she will study journalism at a Russian university, and that she will never lose her love for tennis. As she gave her farewell speech the tears in her colleagues’ eyes were genuine – unlike so many of her peers the Russian had no enemies and was widely admired and respected. Her absence will be keenly felt next year, and her retirement truly marks the end of an era. TENNISWORLD

Doha 2010

Doha Scorecard Kim Clijsters 10/10

Francesca Schiavone 6.5/10

Caroline Wozniacki 7.5/10

Elena Dementieva 6/10

Sam Stosur 7/10

Jelena Jankovic 2/10

She injured her foot, crashed her car and hadn’t practices for months, but the Belgian again came out of nowhere to dominate the competition. It seems that she is at her best when she hasn’t been playing tennis at all. Even the newly-crowned world number one couldn’t stop her, and though Clijsters isn’t at the top of the rankings officially, she certainly played as if she belonged there.

It would have been the perfect end to an awesome year, but when she needed her best tennis Caroline Wozniacki’s nerve failed her. The new world number one played very well up until the final, but she was ultimately no match for the iron woman of tennis, Kim Clijsters. Wozniacki still needs to prove herself on the big stage to make the top ranking fit properly.

She might not have won the tournament, but at least Sam Stosur was able to wreak her revenge on Francesca Schiavone for the Roland Garros defeat. As is always the case with her, she played very well in patches throughout the week in Doha, but lacked the consistency to make a deep run at the event. Hopefully next year she will be able to tame her nerves and win some big tournaments.

Vera Zvonareva 6/10

Many thought that the Russian would win the WTA Championships, and she certainly started very well. The Russian Won all of her round robin matches and looked utterly unstoppable going into the semi-finals. However, she wasn’t able to produce her best tennis when she needed it most and fell at the next hurdle. She’s very close to claiming the top spot, and it will be interesting to see if she can wrestle that position away from Wozniacki next year.

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Schiavone must be kicking herself. She dominated Stosur for 20 minutes before falling apart and letting the Australian back into the match. She proved once again – if there was any doubt – that she can mix it up with the very best players in the world if the mood strikes her. Unfortunately, the mood doesn’t ever seem to last very long. The French Open champion has had a wonderful year, but she could have done much better in Doha.

Unfortunately, her last tournament as a professional was a forgettable one. She was ill before the tournament and couldn’t train properly, and suffered some embarrassing defeats as a result. It certainly isn’t the way she would have liked to go out, but Dementieva can proudly look back on a very successful career.

She might as well have stayed home. Jankovic is one of the most inconsistent players on the WTA Tour, and showed off that fact in Doha. The former world number one has been struggling with injuries, but even that cannot excuse her performances at the WTA Championships. One can only wonder if she will ever again be able to compete at a high level week in and week out.

Victoria Azarenka 6/10

With the Williams sisters out and many of her peers underperforming, many thought this would be Azarenka’s tournament. Unfortunately, she is just not as mentally strong as she needs to be to win these kinds of events. Next year will definitely be tougher once the top dogs get healthy again, and Azarenka will have to raise her game if she wants to appear in Doha again – let alone win it.

Khalifa Tennis Complex - Doha, Qatar - 26 - 31 October 2010

Seed

Kim Clijsters (BEL)

Vera Zvonareva (RUS)

Players

WHITE GROUP Sets W /L

GROUP PLAY STANDINGS

5/2

Jelena Jankovic (SRB)

MAROON GROUP Matches W /L

MAROON GROUP Players 2/1

4/3

Players

Samantha Stosur 2/1

Seed

1 Caroline Wozniacki

Francesca Schiavone (ITA) 2

Victoria Azarenka (BLR)

Caroline Wozniacki (DEN)

4 Samantha Stosur (AUS)

1 5

3/4 2/5

1/2 1/2

Victoria Azarenka

Kim Clijsters

Vera Zvonareva

Players

0/3

1/2

2/1

3/0

Matches W /L

0/6

3/4

4/3

6/0

Sets W /L

WHITE GROUP

Jelena Jankovic Caroline Wozniacki (DEN) Vera Zvonareva (RUS) Kim Clijsters (BEL) Samantha Stosur (AUS)

76(3) 61

64 64

75 64

76(6) 63

Peschke/Srebotnik

Dulko/Pennetta

Kim Clijsters

63 57 63

Kim Clijsters

Caroline Wozniacki 75 60

Elena Dementieva

Francesca Schiavone

36 61 61 64 63 61 61 64 64

Caroline Wozniacki Samantha Stosur Caroline Wozniacki Samantha Stosur 64 62 46 64 76 (4)

Gisela Dulko (ARG) Flavia Pennetta (ITA) Vania King (USA) Yaroslava Shvedova (KAZ) Lisa Raymond (USA) Rennae Stubbs (AUS) Kveta Peschke (CZE) Katarina Srebotnik (SLO)

Vera Zvonareva

Kim Clijsters

Victoria Azarenka

64 75

63 60

76(4) 64

62 63

64 57 61

64 61

Printed (date/time) : 10/31/2010 23:21

WTA Supervisors Laura Ceccarelli / Pam Whytcross

Semi-Finals / Finals (Singles and Doubles)

DATES OF PLAY Round Robin (Singles) 26-29 Oct. 2010 30-31 Oct 2010

PLAYERS REPRESENTATIVE All players present at the draw ceremony Alternates: Li Na (CHN)-Shahar Peer (ISR)

Winner:

Jelena Jankovic (SRB) vs Victoria Azarenka (BLR)

Winner:

Kim Clijsters (BEL) vs Victoria Azarenka (BLR)

Winner:

Kim Clijsters (BEL) vs Jelena Jankovic (SRB)

Winner:

Vera Zvonareva (RUS) vs Victoria Azarenka (BLR)

Winner:

Vera Zvonareva (RUS) vs Jelena Jankovic (SRB)

Winner:

Vera Zvonareva (RUS) vs Kim Clijsters (BEL)

ROUND ROBIN MATCHES

Elena Dementieva (RUS)

Winner:

Elena Dementieva

RANKING USED FOR SEEDING 25-Oct-10

$187,500

$375,000

Doubles Finalist

Winner

Singles

PRIZE MONEY - $4.550.000

$780,000

$93,750

$1,550,000

$300,000

Semifinalists

Winner*

RR (2 wins)

$100,000

$200,000

$400,000

RR (1 win)

*Prize money if undefeated.

RR (no wins)

RR (3 wins)

Finalist*

Winner:

Samantha Stosur (AUS) vs Elena Dementieva (RUS)

Francesca Schiavone

Francesca Schiavone (ITA) vs Elena Dementieva (RUS)

Winner:

Francesca Schiavone (ITA) vs Samantha Stosur (AUS)

Winner:

Caroline Wozniacki (DEN) vs Elena Dementieva (RUS)

Winner:

Caroline Wozniacki (DEN) vs Samantha Stosur (AUS)

Winner:

Caroline Wozniacki (DEN) vs Francesca Schiavone (ITA)

ROUND ROBIN MATCHES

SINGLES DOUBLES

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Eastward Ho! By Marco Rebuglio The Asian swing of the ATP and WTA Tours always holds a number of surprises, and this year was no exception. Murray found a hot streak while Nadal was left out in the cold, and the absence of the Williams sisters was keenly felt in the womenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s game.

he appeal of the racquet after the US Open, which is typically low to begin with, has further declined after the recent inclusion of the long Asian leg of the pro Tour. Though the East generally doesnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t have a tennis tradition, it is a huge market that the ATP and WTA are desperate to break into. As a result, the European indoor season has almost been marginalised to the point of non-existence, with the exception of the Paris Masters 1000. The escalation is the typical one. It begins with 250-tier tournaments in

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Kuala Lumpur and Bangkok, followed by the 500-tier events in Tokyo and Beijing, and then culminates in the grand finale of the Masters 1000 in Shanghai. This last tournament is played in the same facility which hosted the ATP World Tour Finals for four years. Last year was a total disaster in terms of player appearances. Exhausted

from playing in Genoa just a few days after the Flushing Meadows final, Roger Federer did not embark on the long away tour. The same happened with Andy Murray, who was grounded by a wrist injury. With the struggling Rafael Nadal – who would later not even win a single set at the ATP World Tour Finals – leading the charge in the East, there was a distinct lack of epic matches and fascinating tournaments. This time around, however, things were a little better. All the players in the Top 10 participated in the Asian swing, and the level of competition was extremely high throughout.

Nadal succumbed in the third after two hours and 45 minutes of uninspired tennis. The Spaniard hadn’t lost to an opponent outside the Top 50 (Garcia-Lopez was ranked 53) since 2007 at Queen’s. He improved somewhat in Tokyo, win-

With Nadal underperforming so badly, it was Andy Murray who stepped up his game in order to fill the void. In the Shanghai final, he dealt Roger Federer a humiliating 6-3, 6-2 defeat – perhaps the worst he has suffered since the French Open final of 2008. It was a surprising result indeed, considering how well Federer had been playing up to that point. But he didn’t really show up on that Sunday, squandering many opportunities and struggling to find a rhythm.

Rafael Nadal, who had just completed his career Grand Slam a few weeks earlier, put his name down for at least three tournaments: Bangkok, Tokyo and Shanghai. Apparently he hasn’t learned his lesson when it comes to overfilling his schedule, and he was obviously exhausted in ever match he played. His much-improved serve couldn’t save him from his costly baseline errors, and he suffered some very unusual losses. The first came in Bangkok, where he was stunned by the unheralded Guillermo Garcia Lopez. After squandering an incredible 16 (no, that is not a typo) break point chances in the second set,

where he was unceremoniously eliminated by the same man he beat in the Roland Garros semis: Jurgen Melzer. The Austrian came out guns blazing, and Nadal could find no answer for his penetrating ground strokes and booming serve. We haven’t seen Nadal that passive since his return from a knee injury last year, and after withdrawing from Paris with a shoulder ailment, one cannot help but feel that he has to seriously address his scheduling issues if he is to have a long career.

ning the title there, but it was against a very weak field and he still struggled at times – especially against Victor Troicki in the semi-final. Another shocker came in Shanghai,

Murray played a fantastic match, mixing up his offense and defence in a way we haven’t really ever seen him do. For years he has maintained that he can win big titles playing exclusively defensive tennis, but it seems that he has finally realised TENNISWORLD

that this is not so. If he can keep up this well-rounded style of play, there is no reason why he cannot win a Slam. Hopefully a new coach and help him realise that dream, and show him how to come through on the days he isn’t playing his best – something which his struggles to do right now. To triumph at a Slam you have to win seven matches, and there’s a good chance you’ll have at least one off day. The Scot must learn to fight through those days, and the ATP World Tour Finals will be a good indication of how far he has come in this regard.

hope that he regains some of the form that saw him reach the semi-finals at the Australian Open. It would be a great shame indeed if that player disappeared forever.

One player who had hoped to flourish in the weakened line-ups of the Asian swing was French Open finalist Francesca Schiavone. She managed a few decent performances, but fell short in every event. However, by reaching the Tokyo semi-finals (lost to Elena Dementieva) and the Beijing quarter-finals in Beijing (lost to Zvonareva), she earned herself a spot at the prestigious WTA Championships.

In 2009 it was Djokovic who dominated the Asian swing in the absence of the other big dogs, and though he played well again this year he wasn’t at his best. He won the title in China, but fell woefully short against a sharp Federer in Shanghai. Still, he’s likely to make a big push at the end of the year in preparation for the Davis Cup final. Perhaps the most perplexing situation on the ATP Tour at the moment concerns Fernando Verdasco. The Spaniard has experienced a complete implosion since the clay court season, and after the US Open won only a couple of matches. With 20 defeats in 2010, Verdasco has certainly had a disappointing year. We can only 22

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dominated the scene. With victories at Tokyo and Beijing, the Dane won her fifth and sixth titles of the season, and also clinched the world number one spot, ousting Serena Williams from the position.

Some significant absences plagued the WTA Tour during this period. Without the two Williams sisters, Kim Clijsters and Justine Henin, the tournaments were lacking in star power and spectacular matches. Caroline Wozniacki didn’t mind though, and completely

Perhaps the most interesting thing that happened during the last few months of the WTA season was the match featuring Tamarine Tanasugarn and Kimiko Date. The final of the HP Open was the oldest one ever recorded, with the two women combining for a total of 73 years. Tanasugarn eventually prevailed, robbing Date of becoming the first 40-year old to ever win a Tour-level title. Billie Jean King, who triumphed in Birmingham in 1983 at the age of 39 years and 7 months, remains the oldest woman to win an event at this level.

From Princess To Queen Caroline Wozniacki Becomes World Number One

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Caroline Wozniacki arrived in Beijing as a princess, and she left as a queen – the queen of the WTA. With her victory over Petra Kvitova, Wozniacki became the first Dane in history to be ranked number one in the world. With “Simply the Best” playing in the background, she posed for photographers holding a Danish flag and a giant bunch of flowers shaped like the number one. She didn’t let all of this go to her head though, and easily reached the final without dropping a set. It was her seventh final of the season, and it turned out to be her sixth victory of the year as well.

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She was due to play Vera Zvonareva on the Sunday, but thanks to rain the match was postponed. Wozniacki was keen to exact her revenge on the Russian, who had knocked her out of the US Open semi-final, but she had to wait until Monday to do so. When the time finally arrived, she didn’t disappoint. Though it was a tight affair, Wozniacki showed the kind of composure expected of a world number one and edged her opponent

6-3, 3-6, 6-3 to take the title. Overall, it was an interesting week in Beijing. In a mixture of sunshine, smog and rain, the upsets started early on: former French Open champion Svetlana Kuznetsova was one of the first big names to fall, losing to Roberta Vinci in a surprisingly easy match. Her compatriot Dinara Safina also didn’t last long, losing to finalist Vera Zvonareva in two hard-fought sets. Agnieszka Radwanska

Ana Ivanovic dispatched of Elena Dementieva, and while it wasn’t exactly an upset it certainly was a surprise. Though she would eventually lose to Caroline Wozniacki in the quarter-finals, Ivanovic has displayed some of the fire that won her a French Open title a few years ago. She seems to be rediscovering her form, which is certainly a good thing for women’s tennis. The quarter-final between Francesca Schiavone and Vera Zvonareva was, on paper, one of the more interesting matches. Sadly, it was an absolute blowout, and it seems as if the pre-match warmup lasted longer than the contest itself. The final score was 6-0 6-2, and the pair didn’t even spend an hour on court. didn’t even finish one match, as she was forced to withdraw due to a foot fracture. Victoria Azarenka and Nadia Petrova also fell victim to injury – a common phenomenon this late in the season. Maria Sharapova’s struggles continued with a bad loss to Elena Vesnina. The Russian almost seemed resigned to her fate at times during the match, some-

thing which we never see from her. Jelena Jankovic was another seed to fall to an unknown player, this time in the form of Bojana Jovanovski. One of the rising stars of Serbian tennis, the 18 year-old looked like the experienced veteran out on court, while Jankovic could only explain that an ankle injury has been bothering her since July.

Hometown favourite Li Na got to the semi-finals, but ran into an inspired Zvonareva and could only marvel at the Russian’s incredible power and talent. The match had the highest number of spectators for the whole week (approximately 4,000), but the central court still looked half-empty.

TENNISWORLD

China Open

MAIN DRAW SINGLES

Beijing, China 3-11 Oct 2009 Hard, Deco-Turf 1

WC 2 3 Q 4 5

$2,100,500

NADAL, Rafael

ESP

BAGHDATIS, Marcos

R. NADAL [1] CYP 64 36 64

BLAKE, James

USA

MAYER, Florian

J. BLAKE GER 63 36 63

ACASUSO, Jose

ARG

SAFIN, Marat

M. SAFIN RUS 64 62

FERRER, David

ESP

GONZALEZ, Fernando

DAVYDENKO, Nikolay

KUNITSYN, Igor

KOHLSCHREIBER, Philipp

KARLOVIC, Ivo

BENNETEAU, Julien

DANIEL, Marcos

ANDREEV, Igor

WC 6

F. GONZALEZ [7] CHI 75 64

747 R. NADAL [1] 75 67(4) 63 R. NADAL [1] 63 61 M. SAFIN 63 64

RUS

CILIC, Marin

N. DAVYDENKO [4] RUS 61 67(6) 62 N. DAVYDENKO [4] GER 61 60 P. KOHLSCHREIBER CRO 76(6) 46 61 M. CILIC [8] FRA 64 64 J. BENNETEAU BRA 63 64 M. CILIC [8] RUS 62 26 60 M. CILIC [8] CRO 64 64

SODERLING, Robin

SWE

CHARDY, Jeremy

ROBREDO, Tommy

BECKER, Benjamin

MATHIEU, Paul-Henri

LJUBICIC, Ivan

Q 23

KUBOT, Lukasz

RODDICK, Andy

R. SODERLING [6] FRA 63 46 62 R. SODERLING [6] ESP 63 63 T. ROBREDO GER 62 61 R. SODERLING [6] FRA 76(3) 64 I. LJUBICIC CRO 76(8) 46 61 I. LJUBICIC POL 76(6) 46 64 L. KUBOT USA 62 64

VERDASCO, Fernando

ESP

8 WC 16

GINEPRI, Robby

F. VERDASCO [5] USA 67(7) 61 62

ALMAGRO, Nicolas

ESP

FERRERO, Juan Carlos

Q 26

J. FERRERO ESP 75 76(3)

Q 29

FOGNINI, Fabio

TROICKI, Viktor

V. TROICKI SRB 76(5) 75

HANESCU, Victor

ROU

DJOKOVIC, Novak

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8

Seeded Players NADAL, Rafael DJOKOVIC, Novak RODDICK, Andy DAVYDENKO, Nikolay VERDASCO, Fernando SODERLING, Robin GONZALEZ, Fernando CILIC, Marin

Rank 2 4 6 8 9 11 12 15

FOLLOW LIVE SCORING AT www.ATPWorldTour.com

TENNISWORLD

Novak DJOKOVIC [2] 62 76(4)

N. DJOKOVIC [2] 63 63

F. VERDASCO [5] 75 64 N. DJOKOVIC [2] 63 16 61

ITA

N. DJOKOVIC [2] SRB 63 75

M. CILIC [8] 61 63

N. DJOKOVIC [2] 63 60

Prize Money Pts. Winner $500,000 500 Finalist $230,000 300 Semi-Finalist $110,000 180 Quarter-Finalist $52,300 90 2nd Round $26,700 45 1st Round $14,500 0 Last Direct Acceptance Daniel-57

Lucky Losers

Retirements/W.O.

ATP Supervisor Mark Darby

PIRONKOVA, Tsvetana

SHARAPOVA, Maria

PEER, Shahar

SUN, Shengnan

SHVEDOVA, Yaroslava

SCHNYDER, Patty

BONDARENKO, Kateryna

JOVANOVSKI, Bojana

ZAKOPALOVA, Klara

JANKOVIC, Jelena

DEMENTIEVA, Elena

BYE

MEDINA GARRIGUES, Anabel

DATE KRUMM, Kimiko

GOVORTSOVA, Olga

MARTINEZ SANCHEZ, Maria Jose

IVANOVIC, Ana

BARTOLI, Marion

PAVLYUCHENKOVA, Anastasia

KANEPI, Kaia

KVITOVA, Petra

PENNETTA, Flavia

PENG, Shuai

ERRANI, Sara

BYE

WOZNIACKI, Caroline

SRB J. JANKOVIC [3] CZE 75 75 B. JOVANOVSKI SRB 46 62 62 B. JOVANOVSKI UKR 57 64 63

RUS

JPN

BLR

ESP

SRB

FRA

EST K. KANEPI RUS 75 61

SZAVAY, Agnes

C. WOZNIACKI [1]

VESNINA, Elena

DEN

BACSINSZKY, Timea

ITA P. KVITOVA CZE 76(4) 61

ESP

S. PEER [15] 64 62

Rank 12 13 14 15 17 18 19 20

China Open

MAIN DRAW SINGLES

RADWANSKA, Agnieszka

RUS

SLO

SVK

REZAI, Aravane

KUZNETSOVA, Svetlana

VINCI, Roberta

MAKAROVA, Ekaterina

DUSHEVINA, Vera

HERCOG, Polona

HANTUCHOVA, Daniela

BYE

SCHIAVONE, Francesca

STOSUR, Samantha

SEVASTOVA, Anastasija

CIBULKOVA, Dominika

WICKMAYER, Yanina

ZHOU, Yi-Miao

BONDARENKO, Alona

RUS

DULKO, Gisela

FRA

ZHANG, Shuai

ARG

KIRILENKO, Maria

CHN

SAFAROVA, Lucie

HAN, Xinyun

RUS

PETKOVIC, Andrea

ITA

CZE

SAFINA, Dinara

ITA

GER

ZVONAREVA, Vera

Sony Ericsson WTA Tour Supervisor L. Ceccarelli, M. Tabb. S. Chen

RUS

PETROVA, Nadia

ROU DULGHERU, Alexandra A. DULGHERU 64 64 CZE ZAHLAVOVA STRYCOVA, Barbora

KERBER, Angelique

KLEYBANOVA, Alisa

POL A. KERBER 57 76(3) 75 GER

LU, Jing-Jing

RUS A. KLEYBANOVA 61 60 CHN

LI, Na

KUDRYAVTSEVA, Alla

RUS N. LI [9] 62 60 CHN

F. SCHIAVONE [5]

Retirements/W.O.

AZARENKA, Victoria - Retirement (left adductor strain) PETROVA, Nadia - Walkover (right foot injury)

Players Representative Sun, Shengnan

RUS

RUS N. PETROVA [13] 62 62 CHN N. PETROVA [13] 63 75 UKR A. BONDARENKO 62 60 CHN A. SEVASTOVA wo. BEL D. CIBULKOVA 60 76(6) SVK A. SEVASTOVA 26 61 62 LAT A. SEVASTOVA 26 76(5) 75 AUS

N. LI [9] 61 64

A. KERBER 62 61

Beijing, CHN 2 - 10 October, 2010 Hard WTA Premier Mandatory - $4,500,000

CHAMPION

63 36 63

Lucky Losers

Last Direct Acceptance

Patty Schnyder (52)

Follow Live Scoring at www.sonyericssonwtatour.com

F. SCHIAVONE [5] 63 63 P. HERCOG 63 06 63 F. SCHIAVONE [5] 46 63 61 V. DUSHEVINA 64 64 V. DUSHEVINA 36 62 63 R. VINCI 63 26 63 V. ZVONAREVA [2] 60 62 G. DULKO 64 26 64 M. KIRILENKO 62 36 62 M. KIRILENKO 61 60 V. ZVONAREVA [2] 57 64 62 A. PETKOVIC 62 63 V. ZVONAREVA [2] 64 61 V. ZVONAREVA [2] 64 76(6)

V. ZVONAREVA [2] 63 63

N. LI [9] 76(6) 63

Caroline WOZNIACKI [1]

C. WOZNIACKI [1] 76(1) 64

C. WOZNIACKI [1] 75 62

S. PEER [15] 76(4) 64

N. LI [9] 62 60

Prize Money Pts. Winner $775,500 1000 Finalists $387,750 700 Semi-Finalists $169,445 450 Quarter Finalists $74,450 250 3rd Round $37,225 140 2nd Round $19,950 80 1st Round $10,340 5

T. BACSINSZKY 62 63

S. PEER [15] 61 62

A. IVANOVIC 62 63 A. IVANOVIC 60 75 O. GOVORTSOVA 63 62 A. IVANOVIC 76(2) 76(4) K. DATE KRUMM 60 64 E. DEMENTIEVA [7] 63 16 63 E. DEMENTIEVA [7]

SUI P. SCHNYDER KAZ 61 64 CHN S. PEER [15] ISR 61 62

E. VESNINA 76(3) 62

Seeded Players LI, Na KUZNETSOVA, Svetlana BARTOLI, Marion SHARAPOVA, Maria PETROVA, Nadia REZAI, Aravane PEER, Shahar PAVLYUCHENKOVA, Anastasia

T. BACSINSZKY 46 32 Ret'd

RUS M. SHARAPOVA [12] BUL 64 76(5) HUN E. VESNINA RUS 76(4) 16 63

9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16

V. AZARENKA [8]

SUI T. BACSINSZKY GER 36 64 76(4)

BLR Rank 2 4 6 7 8 9 10 11

C. WOZNIACKI [1] 63 62

C. WOZNIACKI [1] 64 62

GOERGES, Julia

ITA S. ERRANI CHN 16 64 61

BYE

P. KVITOVA 75 67(6) 62

AZARENKA, Victoria

Seeded Players WOZNIACKI, Caroline ZVONAREVA, Vera JANKOVIC, Jelena STOSUR, Samantha SCHIAVONE, Francesca RADWANSKA, Agnieszka DEMENTIEVA, Elena AZARENKA, Victoria

8 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8

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SHANGHAI

I don’t know what the Chinese word for rain is, but I would have liked to begin this piece with that word. Four days of uninterrupted rain played havoc with the schedule at the Shanghai Masters 1000 event, but thanks to the roofed centre court at least some matches were possible every day. Unfortunately, few of those matches were thrilling affairs. With perhaps the exception of the Melzer-Nadal encounter, most of the matches were one-sided affairs that featured little excitement. However, that doesn’t mean that there weren’t some fantastic individual performances. Novak Djokovic, Jurgen Melzer and Roger Federer all delighted the crowds with their awesome shotmaking, even if their opponents weren’t able to

TENNISWORLD

keep up with them. The biggest shock of the event came from world number one Rafael Nadal, who was unceremoniously knocked out

by Melzer. Many have criticised Nadal’s excessively packed schedule, and once again it came back to haunt him at a big event. That isn’t to say that Melzer didn’t deserve the victory. Indeed, he played

some of the best tennis of his life to overcome Nadal, and some of his shots were truly breathtaking. The biggest surprise of the tournament was by far Juan Monaco, who had played almost no tennis leading up to the event. He finally ran out of luck against Andy Murray, but his first Masters 1000 semi-final will no doubt give him an enormous amount of confidence going forward. Novak Djokovic continued his good run of form following the US Open, but was no match for a Federer seeking revenge after his US Open loss to the Serb. The Swiss played some of the best tennis

we’ve seen all year in his run to the final, but seemed completely out of sorts against Andy Murray in the championship match. It was one of his worst defeats in recent memory. Still, it seems that the Swiss’ new coach is having a very positive effect on him, as he’s playing very consistently and aggressively again. But if one player is playing with renewed fervour thanks to a new coach, another has found form without any coach at all. Andy Murray has gone from strength to strength since departing with his long-time coach before the US Open, and is looking better than he has in years. He picked Federer apart in the final, and mixed up his offense and defence very effectively. If he can keep up this kind of form into next year, he might very well finally bag that first Grand Slam title that has eluded him for so long.

TENNISWORLD

VERDASCO, Fernando

DE BAKKER, Thiemo

MONACO, Juan

BYE

STEPANEK, Radek

A. MURRAY [4]

UKR

DOLGOPOLOV, Alexandr

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8

NADAL, Rafael DJOKOVIC, Novak FEDERER, Roger MURRAY, Andy SODERLING, Robin DAVYDENKO, Nikolay BERDYCH, Tomas YOUZHNY, Mikhail

RUS

M. YOUZHNY [8]

F. MAYER RSA 62 62

USA

F. MAYER 64 67(5) 61

J. TSONGA [12] 76(7) 61

J. CHARDY 61 57 62

A. MURRAY [4] 62 62

Seeded Players Rank 1 9 VERDASCO, Fernando 2 10 RODDICK, Andy 3 11 FERRER, David 4 12 TSONGA, Jo-Wilfried 5 13 MELZER, Jurgen 6 14 CILIC, Marin 7 15 MONFILS, Gael 8 16 ALMAGRO, Nicolas FOLLOW LIVE SCORING AT www.ATPWorldTour.com

Seeded Players

YOUZHNY, Mikhail

BYE

ANDERSON, Kevin

MAYER, Florian

GER

BERRER, Michael

S. QUERREY GER 63 76(6)

QUERREY, Sam

J. TSONGA [12] ESP 76(4) 63

LOPEZ, Feliciano

FRA

TSONGA, Jo-Wilfried

A. DOLGOPOLOV ESP 26 75 76(3)

ALMAGRO, Nicolas

J. CHARDY CYP 76(4) 61

BAGHDATIS, Marcos

FRA

CHARDY, Jeremy

Y. BAI CHN 63 64

CZE

GBR

MURRAY, Andy

J. MONACO 26 63 64

M. ZVEREV 64 76(3) N. DAVYDENKO [6]

M. ZVEREV UKR 61 46 76(7)

GER

J. MONACO FRA 64 76(3)

ARG

T. DE BAKKER NED 76(4) 75

ESP

RUS

BAI, Yan

R. NADAL [1] 64 64

D. GIMENO-TRAVER ESP 36 63 63 J. MELZER [13] TPE 63 76(2) J. MELZER [13] AUT 64 76(5)

DAVYDENKO, Nikolay

BYE

STAKHOVSKY, Sergiy

ZVEREV, Mischa

SERRA, Florent

MELZER, Jurgen

YANG, Tsung-Hua

ISTOMIN, Denis

GIMENO-TRAVER, Daniel

UZB

WAWRINKA, Stanislas

S. WAWRINKA SUI 64 61

FRA

SIMON, Gilles

R. NADAL [1]

BYE

ESP

NADAL, Rafael

Rank 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16

Winner Finalists Semi-Finalists Quarter Finalists 3rd Round 2nd Round 1st Round

$616,500 $302,000 $151,800 $77,750 $40,330 $21,000 $11,000

Pts. 1000 600 360 180 90 45 10

A. MURRAY [4] 62 62

A. MURRAY [4] 64 61

J. MONACO 67(6) 75 62

Prize Money

J. TSONGA [12] 75 63

A. MURRAY [4] 63 64

J. MONACO 60 62

J. MELZER [13] 61 36 63

Lucky Losers

N. DJOKOVIC [2] 62 63

Schwank-57

Last Direct Acceptance

N. DJOKOVIC [2] 61 61

SWE

CZE

SUI

N. DJOKOVIC [2]

FISH-ANKLE(WD) RODDICK - Adductor Strain

SRB

I. LJUBICIC 57 63 64 CHN

CRO

LAT

R. GASQUET 61 64 FRA

Retirements/W.O.

N. DJOKOVIC [2] 63 63

R. GASQUET 64 36 64

G. MONFILS [15] 61 75 GER

FRA

A. RODDICK [10] 63 21 Ret'd USA

GER

ARG

ESP T. ROBREDO 63 76(4) ESP

T. BERDYCH [7]

R. FEDERER [3]

POL J. ISNER 46 76(9) 76(7) USA

CHN Y. LU 61 64 TPE

A. SEPPI 62 62 ITA

CRO

D. FERRER [11] 76(2) 61 ESP

FRA

T. BELLUCCI 61 26 76(4) TUR

BRA

KAZ J. TIPSAREVIC 63 64 SRB

R. SODERLING [5]

G. GARCIA-LOPEZ 67(8) 62 64 ESP

T. BERDYCH [7] 60 64

R. FEDERER [3] 63 64

A. SEPPI 76(4) 63

D. FERRER [11] 76(7) 63

R. SODERLING [5] 63 76(5)

G. GARCIA-LOPEZ 36 32 Ret'd

G. GARCIA-LOPEZ 76(4) 63

R. FEDERER [3] 63 64

R. SODERLING [5] 75 64

R. FEDERER [3] 75 64

R. FEDERER [3] 61 61

GIMENO-TRAVER - Montanes - Back strain

63 62

Andy MURRAY [4]

CHAMPION

Shanghai, China 9-17 October, 2010 Hard, Decoturf $3,240,000 5014

Shanghai Rolex Masters MAIN DRAW SINGLES

ATP Supervisor M Darby/T Barnes

DJOKOVIC, Novak

BYE

ZHANG, Ze

LJUBICIC, Ivan

GASQUET, Richard

GULBIS, Ernests

BECKER, Benjamin

MONFILS, Gael

RODDICK, Andy

KOHLSCHREIBER, Philipp

GARCIA-LOPEZ, Guillermo

SCHWANK, Eduardo

ROBREDO, Tommy

MONTANES, Albert

BYE

BERDYCH, Tomas

FEDERER, Roger

BYE

ISNER, John

KUBOT, Lukasz

LU, Yen-Hsun

WU, di

SEPPI, Andreas

CILIC, Marin

FERRER, David

LLODRA, Michael

ILHAN, Marsel

BELLUCCI, Thomaz

TIPSAREVIC, Janko

GOLUBEV, Andrey

BYE

SODERLING, Robin

SHANGHAI

TENNISWORLD

SHANGHAI

Scorecard Rafael Nadal 6/10

Many people criticised Nadal for packing his schedule following the US Open. Almost immediately after the year’s last Slam he played three tournaments back-to-back. The decision cost him dearly, as he was completely flat and without energy in Shanghai. Still, it required an inspired performance from Jurgen Melzer to put the Spaniard away. We just hope he’s learned his lesson, as his excessive schedule caused him to withdraw from Paris as well.

Juan Monaco 8/10

Without a doubt, Monaco was the surprise of the tournament. He had hardly played any tennis coming in to the event, but disposed of some quality opponents on his way to the semifinals. He would eventually fall to Andy Murray, but it was a brilliant and gritty display from the Argentine throughout the week.

Novak Djokovic 7/10

Djokovic always seems to get himself to the semi-final or final in these events, but whenever the big dogs are in attendance he usually falls short of the big prize. This time it was Roger Federer who took him out in the semis. It was a bit of a grudge match, as the Serb had eliminated Federer in the US Open, and the Swiss maestro got his revenge. A good tournament for Djokovic, but not good enough.

TENNISWORLD

Roger Federer 9/10

After his semi-final loss to Djokovic at the US Open, whispers of his decline again started up. However, he silenced his critics with a brilliant performance in Shanghai. Sadly, he had his worst day in the final, and never really found the rhythm he needed against And Murray. Still, it was a wonderful week for Federer, and he’s sure to take a lot of confidence from it.

Zvonareva 6/10

If ever there was a late bloomer, it’s Jurgen Melzer. The Austrian has had an incredible year, reaching the French Open semi-finals and successfully defending his title in Vienna. Though he fell to Juan Monaco in the quarterfinals, Melzer will always remember this as the tournament where he beat world number one Rafael Nadal for the very first time. It was an inspired performance, and allowed Melzer to get revenge for his loss at Nadal’s hands during the French Open.

Andy Murray 9.5/10

Murray has been very inconsistent this season, but when he’s played well he’s played very well indeed. He was much more aggressive than usual in Shanghai, and this change in tactics served him well. He still has to work on his second serve and be aggressive on a more regular basis, but the Scot is having a good end to the year. It looks like splitting up with his coach was the right decision after all.

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TENNISWORLD

An Interview With The Previous King Of Clay

Old Man Muster Slower surfaces that allow you to compete more easily. Balls that don’t fly as fast as they used to. Astounding prize money that allows you to live the life of a rock star. It’s all so much easier today. At least, that’s what Tomas Muster thinks sometimes.

TENNISWORLD

he winner of 44 ATP World Tour events in his day, along with a French Open title in 1995, Muster was once considered the King of Clay, just as Rafael Nadal is now. There is no jealousy in his musings – no bitterness. He just realises that the sport of tennis is very different now from what it was when he was in his prime, and at 43 years of age, he can’t help but wish he was able to be a part of this new world. Perhaps that is why he is trying to make a comeback on the main circuit when most of his peers are playing in the veteran’s league. He might not have as much hair as he once did, and the body isn’t as strong

as it used to be, but the fiery passion what won him a Grand Slam is still very evident. Muster is up at seven every morning to train, even the day after suffering a tough defeat (6-3, 6-0) at the hands of Gianluca Naso in the first round of a Challenger event in Palermo. Since his return Muster has only won one match, at the Challenger in Lubiana, against Boruc Put. Nevertheless, he remains adamant that he wants to make a proper comeback. One cannot help but wonder why he is doing this. He is a shadow of his former self on the court – an echo of the player who was once number one in the world. Why go through this? Why not just let

people remember the Muster of yesteryear? The reason is simple: he loves tennis, and won’t give it up for anyone. Not even old age. How do you feel about being back on the Tour, back into the pace of when you were a player? “I feel good, very good. I have only been training for a few months and I know that I can only improve. Here in Palermo I didn’t have such a great match, but all this, these defeats, are par for the course. It is a natural journey. It is as if there was a sign saying “work in progress”. I retired in 1999 – it will still take some time. But I am happy to have rediscovered new emotions after so

TENNISWORLD

many years.” The question on everybody’s mind is: why come back? “Definitely not for the money, I want this to be clear. I haven’t asked for wild cards for important tournaments with big prize money. I play in the challenger, where there isn’t much money. Mine is not a comeback to top levels – I know full well my present limitations and I have no illusions. Just be clear, it is not a return like that of Michael Schumacher or Lance Armstrong, who tried to come back to show that they can still be the absolute best. I simply want to play, train and have fun. I do it for passion. But then, of course it irks me when I lose. I don’t like it when people only remember me for my

past, or when the opponents that beat me pat me on the shoulder reminding me of the good old days. I want to be treated like all the others. I want to be an opponent to be defeated and not to be remembered for what I did years ago. I am not interested in the books that say I won this or that. Those are not the things I enjoy. If I had to think of what I have

TENNISWORLD

done, I would have stayed home looking after my vineyard and drinking my wine which, I promise you, is very good.” What is the secret to getting to 43 with so much desire to play? “I don’t know, there is no reason, no secret. I love this sport, as simple as that. After all, nobody asks Mick Jagger or Bono from U2 why they are still singing. They just do it without thinking about it too much. I can tell you that I love to get up in the morning and train. I love to work hard. I love to play. I love to fight. I may have a few more aches and pains when I go to sleep, but I don’t care. Nor do I care about what people think…”

won more.” The comparison with Nadal – he too a clay super specialist – seems too fitting. You are also both left-handed and very explosive in your style of play. “Indeed, I would have loved to have been as lucky as him and play this type of tennis. But it is two different eras and comparisons cannot be made, otherwise we would have to ask ourselves how Rod Laver would play today, for instance. Impossible. Nevertheless, seeing today’s indoor surfaces is very strange. Let’s say that today’s red clay specialist enjoys certain privileges that we did not have in the past.”

Do you find that tennis has changed?

“The level of the challenger has without a doubt lifted. There isn’t much difference between world number 150 and world number 50. It wasn’t like this in the past...the gap was much bigger. Now everything is more standardised, even the surfaces. They are all much slower. I would have loved to play with these balls in my time. Maybe I would have

Such as? “The calendar, first of all. Much more blocked, much more favourable. In the past everything was a bit haphazard, planning used to change constantly and it was difficult to adjust, there was little room to manoeuvre. Furthermore, in the past everything was dictated by the most brilliant players or the time, such as Becker, Ivanisevic or Sampras – players who loved to play on super-fast courts, and so the organisers and ATP would accommodate this. Now it seems that the wind has changed. Even the racquets and balls have changed. Again, everything is more uniform, there are no longer specialists on a single surface, also because in the end they are all very similar. Wimbledon is the glaring example: now everyone plays from the baseline, nobody comes down to the net anymore, something that was unthinkable in the past.”

You almost seem to regret not having had a chance to play at a top level during this era “No, no...Well, maybe I would have won something more, who knows? I would have liked to try. Perhaps I regret not having won a few more Roland Garros titles when I had the chance, but this is all futile. Perhaps I envy today’s prize money, which is fabulous. I think Rod Laver envies it too.” Any plans for the future? “To go on trying and playing on the Challenger circuit. For the time being I am not planning to compete in any big tournament, this is not my present level. I need to have a look and weigh up things, step by step. I will play a few tournaments in Austria, I will go on training and we shall see. Early in the year I will go to Australia, where I lived for 16 years. The climate is ideal and I will get to spend time with my son who lives there. It will be an opportunity to spend more time together.” So, no Australian Open? “At the moment it is not on the cards, but you never know. We’ll see.” Who do you see yourself in today? “I would like to say Federer or Nadal, but I am afraid it is not so. Actually, there isn’t a specific player. I like to be just myself. I like to be a tennis player who can be a role model to the youth, perhaps not for my game but for my passion and my desire to train, for my way of living and approaching tennis. I would like to be an example of someone who doesn’t give up. I haven’t even after the accident, and this is what you need to get to the top.” You speak like a coach “God forbid, no. I don’t like that. I don’t see myself as one. I am a player, and on a tennis court I only want to play.” TENNISWORLD

A Long Way Back To The Top

Juan Martin Del Potro plans his long-awaited return to tennis

At the end of September, Juan Martin Del Potro said the words that tennis fans have been waiting to hear for eight months. “I’m happy to say, I’m playing Bangkok! Thanks for everything!” he posted on his Twitter account. It marked the end of a long and difficult journey through pain, surgery and rehabilitation. But Del Potro’s trials are not over yet, and the man who beat Roger Federer in the 2009 US Open final still has a long way to go before he can return to the top of the game.

The start of it all Del Potro first felt pain in his wrist shortly after his epic US Open win over Roger Federer. A veteran would have known that such things must not be ignored, by the young Argentine was in the form of his life, eager to please his fans and impress his peers. He gritted his teeth and fought through the pain, but there was clearly something wrong. Even though he reached the championship match at the ATP World Tour Finals, he knew his wrist would need some time off. Luckily, it was the end of the season and he could afford to rest his ailing body for a while. But during his preparation for the Australian Open in January, the wrist flared up even worse than before. He withdrew from the invitational event in Kooyong, and again played through the pain in Melbourne, where he

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reached the round of 16 before losing to long-time rival Marin Cilic. After Australia, he couldn’t ignore real-

ity any longer. He was forced to rest his wrist until it felt better, which meant sitting out the North American hard court swing. Initially, he planned to make a

Del Potro’s Incredible Rise To – And Fall From – The Top

return on the European clay, but that deadline came and went without the Argentine even setting foot on a court. More time passed, and eventually Del Potro had to make a very serious decision: wait out the injury with conventional therapy, or undergo surgery. Operating on a tennis player’s wrist is risky business, and few professionals ever manage to make a full recovery and return to the sport. In the end, he opted to go under the knife, and though the operation went well there was no telling when – or even if – the US Open champion would play tennis again.

Though Juan Martin Del Potro only became a household name in 2009, when he won that epic final against Roger Federer in the US Open final, he has been on the radar for a very long time. Even at the age of 19 he was already making waves, and many experts saw in him the makings of a future Top 10 player. In 2007 he gave players the likes of Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal headaches, and a year later he broke through in a major way. Starting in Stuttgart, he won four consecutive titles, a run that included Kitzbuhel, Los Angeles, and Washington. No player has ever won his first tournament and then followed it up with three others. It was, in a word, incredible.

The next year saw him win three more titles, in Auckland, Washington and, most importantly, New York. He also qualified for the ATP World Tour Finals, where he again beat Roger Federer and reached the final. There he lost to the red-hot Russian Nikolay Davydenko in straight sets. In stark contrast to all that success, he played only six matches in 2010, four of which came at the Australian Open. It’s worth pointing out that even though the Argentine has won a Grand Slam, he’s never won a Masters 1000 title (though he has reached a final). But that day, we all hope, will soon come. E.C.

Rumours of my return have been greatly exaggerated Since May 4 – the day of the operation – rumours of Del Potro’s imminent return have surfaced on a weekly basis. First it was Toronto, then Cincinnati, then the

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US Open and finally the Davis Cup semifinal. Every time an important event rolled around, everyone said Delpo was coming back, and fans were always disappointed. People started saying that he had depression and was struggling with his rehabilitation, claims all fervently denied by his camp. Finally, at the start of August, we got official word that he was training again. His coach, Franco Davin, warned everyone – including Del Potro – to have realistic expectations. “He will need to start all over again,” Davin said. “He needs to understand this, as it is not easy for a young man of 21 to win one of the most important tournaments and then find himself left with nothing. He had much expectation from this season.” Wise words indeed, and they were confirmed in the following weeks. Del Potro

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made his ATP Tour return at Bangkok, but it was far from a triumphant one. In the first round he fell to the diminutive Belgian Olivier Rochus 7-6, 6-4, dashing hopes of a clash between Delpo and Nadal in the quarter-finals. Despite the loss, Del Potro was positive

afterwards. He was just happy to be back on court again, and didn’t play badly at all (he hit 14 aces in total, 11 of which were in the first set). Next up was Tokyo, but things didn’t get much better there. In fact, they got a lot worse, and a stinging 6-3, 6-0 loss to

Feliciano Lopez put a further dent in Del Potro’s comeback plans. It was clear that he was nowhere near fit enough to compete at this level, and the Argentine withdrew from Shanghai and said he would not play again in 2010. Instead, he would focus on getting physically fit and ready for next season. Cases to remember – Muster and Kuerten The key words in this whole saga are Davin’s: “He will need to start all over again. He needs to understand this.” This is not at all an easy thing to do. Once you have been at the very top of the sport and you try to come back from a serious injury, your mental approach is even more critical than before. You need to be able to erase the memory of what were, and have the humility and determination to want to start again. Two examples, very different from one another, can be of help in this respect: Thomas Muster and Guga Kuerten. In 1989 the Austrian was hit by a drunk driver a few hours before he was due to play Ivan Lendl in the Key Biscane final. The accident left him with a serious injury to his knee ligaments. He was 21, just like Del Potro, and was forced to sit out for six months. During that time he worked like crazy, and at the end of it he came back stronger than before. Six years later, in 1995, he won the French Open and became world number one. Kuerten was at the other end of the spectrum. His career was forever changed by a hip injury, for which he had to undergo surgery. Though he returned to the Tour, he never managed to regain his form or confidence and eventually retired because of it. It is worth saying again that serious injuries often have greater mental consequences than physical ones. If you

think your abilities have been compromised thanks to an injury, you will not play as well as you did before, even if you are physically as strong as ever. Muster was able to tame his body and his mind, while Kuerten was not. So what about Del Potro? It is too soon to tell. The young man has played just two matches since his return – six in the whole year – and we need to see him in action for an extended period before making any judgements. It will

no doubt be even more difficult for him next year, seeing as his ranking has slipped considerably. This means that he might have to play top players early in tournaments. But perhaps we must keep in mind that this is the man who beat Roger Federer in the final of a Slam that the Swiss had won five times in a row. And he did so after almost being down two sets to love. Del Potro is strong – just how strong we’ll find out next year. TENNISWORLD

A Rally With

Ruben Bemelmans

It was the Belgian spring of 2007 and yours truly – then a member of the T.C. Excelsior Club in Hasselt, Belgium – was practicing with a promising young tennis pro named Ruben Bemelmans. By Alessandro Boni I had done some work to earn this privilege. The previous year, my teammates and I had won the Heren 5 National Cup, and I can proudly say that in that year I brought home all the points in the singles and doubles matches I played. Thanks to this, I was promoted to first team, where I was the sixth singles specialist. And who was the first? Of course, it happened to be this 19 yearold who the club spoke very highly of, and who was regarded as a guaranteed win for the team (when he was there, that is, as he was already playing pro tournaments by then). The trait that most impressed me when we played was his serenity. Despite his young age, he never said an angry word or got outwardly frustrated. His table manners during a dinner with the opposing team (an almost sacred ritual in team cups in Belgium) were also impeccable, and he was friendly and polite to everyone he met. I was not at all surprised to recently learn that since then he has jumped 600 or so positions in the rankings to a career-high of 172 at the end of October. When a player possesses the precious combination of physical talent and mental strength, progress is unavoidable. Inquisitive readers who feel like doing

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some research will find all of Bemelmans’ vital statistics, and I can confirm each one. I stand 1.78m tall, and even three years ago young Ruben already towered 7-8cm above me. Considering that many men continue to grow until the age of 25, the people who update biographical information will be kept very busy over the next few years. Ruben’s game is very well-rounded, and he is the epitome of the modern tennis player. Though he can play on any surface, his strong shots favour the faster ones. His serve is powerful and accurate, and he is incredibly solid from both the baseline and the net. He often plays doubles as well as singles in the many tournaments he enters – something which helps both his game and his bank balance. The highlight of his young career came on 30 September, 2010, when he fought through the qualifiers at the ATP 250 event in Bangkok and into the main draw. After winning his first round

match, he suddenly found himself faceto-face with none other than Rafael Nadal in the second round. Though he started nervously, he found a nice rhythm in the second set, and managed to hold his own against the world number one. The final score was 6-1, 6-4, but even though he lost the match he gained a great amount of experience – something that will definitely help him as he moves forward with his career. Somehow I don’t think I’ll be able to keep up with him the next time we hit some balls.

On Top Of The World Caroline Wozniacki is officially the best female tennis player in the world. But without a Grand Slam title and still only 20 years old, she knows her job is far from done.

From Beijin Anagelica Frattini Photos: Luigi Fraboni “I am so proud. Now I can say I am number one in the world. It’s an incredible feeling.” These were the words of an emotional Caroline Wozniacki who, on October 7, became 20th player in history to hold the number one spot on the WTA rankings. Add to that the fact that she’s the youngest player in the Top 10, and the achievement is even more remarkable. At 20 years of age, Wozniacki is the seventh youngest person to sit atop the women’s rankings. Her home country of Denmark is not exactly renowned for its tennis prowess, and one has to travel back to the 1980s to track down the last player of relevance: Tina Scheurt-Larson. “Handball is far more popular,” Wozniacki says of tennis in her homeland. “The national team has won three medals at the Olympics. The best badminton player in the world is also a Dane. In these sports, we have a tradition. But tennis looked like the best sport for me. I was my own boss on court and I liked that – nobody could tell me what to do or not to do.” Wozniacki’s story is not a typical one. Her family has always been involved with sports: her mother Anna played in the Polish volleyball team and her father Piotr, a soccer player, moved to Denmark at the end of the 1980s to play for the B1909 club in Odense. A couple of years later Caroline was born, and from an early age she wanted to play every sport her brother (four years her senior) played – from swimming to soccer. When Patrick picked up a tennis racquet, young Caroline (then age seven) followed suit, but this time she found something just

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added an expletive-filled phrase that we dare not repeat here. It’s worth noting that Wozniacki now claims the last outburst was aimed at herself. In 2008 she ended the year at number 13 in the world after having won titles at Stockholm, New Haven and Tokyo. She was named Newcomer of the year, and in 2009 did even better. She climbed to number four by the end of the season, and won Ponte Vedra Beach, Eastbourne, New Haven (again) and reached the US

for herself. “I am very competitive. I hate losing. If I couldn’t be the best, I wouldn’t want to play anymore. But with tennis it was love at first sight. I was not good and nobody wanted to play with me, so I would hit the ball against the wall for hours and enjoy it. I wanted to show the whole world I was not that bad. Then my father finally gave me the go-ahead: ‘If you want to play,’ he said, ‘I will help you’.” Two years later, Caroline was already routinely beating her brother (“The first time was incredible”), but it was when she won her first title in Japan – the Osaka Mayor’s Cup – that her father understood his 14 year-old daughter’s potential. In 2006, at 16, she reached the final of the junior Australian Open, won the Junior Wimbledon title and ended the year ranked number two in her age group. Blonde with blue eyes, the Dane always has a smile on her face, and it is not surprising that her nicknames include “Miss Sunshine” and “Sweet Caroline.” However, under that charming exterior is a feisty competitor who has struggled with her temper in the past. In 2006, she was disqualified from the Junior US Open for verbally abusing an umpire: “Take off your sunglasses,” she thundered, and 46

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Open final. All of this success naturally attracted media scrutiny, and an unauthorised biography portrayed an unflattering picture of the Dane’s circumstances. It showed her father as an authoritarian who forced his daughter to take up the sport, and was merciless in making her train for hours every day. A controversy also arose over her father’s passport, which identifies him as Victor Krason and not Piotr Wozniacki. How come? He claims it’s a

stores wherever she goes, and loves to talk about it. “During the day my style is simple: I only need a pair of jeans and a top, but at night I like to wear a dress and look very feminine. The same when I am on court,” she says of her fashion and shopping preferences. Thanks to her love of fashion and continued success on the court, she is now the poster girl for Stella McCartney’s Adidas range.

personal matter, but it has naturally led to some nasty rumours. People close to Wozniacki discount the book and the rumours as nonsense. “Piotr did an excellent job. Caroline is so driven...she works on her weak points and is very mature for her age,” says Sven Groeneveld, the Adidas team coach who works with Wozniacki. “I saw her with a TV crew in tow, no parents, no agents – she is a very independent girl. She is not afraid of being at the centre of attention. Unless you were born this way, it can take you a while to learn to handle certain situations.” Wozniacki is a defensive genius, forcing her opponents to hit that one extra ball and make a mistake. Her footwork and speed allow her to run down almost every shot, something which has earned her another nickname – “Wall-zniacki.” If one had to compare her to someone on the ATP Tour, Rafael Nadal and Andy Murray immediately come to mind. Like those players, her athleticism and mental toughness are her greatest strengths.

Indeed, she is almost as famous for her looks as she is for her tennis, and her fame grows daily. “In Denmark sometimes it’s crazy, with everyone asking for me. We are a small country and now I am the most important name in sports. But I am used to taking things one step at a time.” But despite all of her accomplishments, one thing haunts Wozniacki’s reputation: she has never won a Grand Slam. Like Dinara Safina before her, she is the number one player in the world but has never won tennis’ biggest prize. It is something the media constantly bombards her with, but unlike Safina she handles these situations very well.

different. I know that every match will be tough, it will be a battle. Pressure is when you’re put in a spot and you don’t really feel like you belong there. When you really believe you belong there, you can do the things you have to do. There’s no pressure. You just go out there and play. I think I deserve to be where I am and I am comfortable with it.” And when it comes to her lack of Slam success, she has all the answers already: “Winning a Slam is my next goal now that I have reached the number one ranking. I believe I can beat anyone. To win a Grand Slam you need to win seven matches in a row, so it’s tough but I believe it’s possible. I hope I can make it next year. And if I don’t make it, I am still young and still have many years ahead of me.” Ambitious words indeed. But if Wozniacki has shown us anything over the past few years, it’s that she can back up her talk with actions.

“This morning, getting up and knowing I was number one gave me a wonderful feeling. But on court I don’t feel any

Of course, with such talent and ability comes lots of money, and Wozniacki isn’t afraid to spend it. She loves shopping in boutique TENNISWORLD

A World Without The Williams Sisters At the WTA Championships, the tennis world got a taste of life without the Williams sisters. It wasn’t exactly a pretty sight. With Elena Dementieva now also out of the picture, and most of the top players being ageing veterans, what does the future hold for the WTA Tour?

t was a surprise to many when Venus Williams appeared in crutches just weeks before the WTA Championships. The WTA was pretty surprised as well, since they were unaware of the situation. It was a major knock for the season-ending event in Doha, where the world’s eight best players battle it out for supremacy. But of course one person’s misfortune is another opportunity, and Elena Dementieva – who thought she was on holiday already – was told that her services would be required in Doha. So on the eve of the Beijing final, everything seemed set for the WTA Championships: Wozniacki, Serena, Zvonareva, Clijsters, Stosur, Schiavone, Jankovic and Dementieva would compete at the year’s final event. However, sister Serena was not to be outdone by her younger sibling, and caused an even bigger shock when she also withdrew due to injury. Just days after requesting a wild card for the Linz tournament, Serena posted on Twitter: “I’m likely out for the year now, keep me in your prayers.” It’s been a tough year for the American, who has only competed in a handful of tournaments due to recurring injuries.

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Nevertheless, she managed to win the Australian Open and Wimbledon, so 2010 hasn’t exactly been a total train wreck. Indeed, it was at Wimbledon that Serena played her last official match, as a cut on her foot effectively ended her season a few weeks later. The circumstances surrounding the incident have never been made entirely clear (she says she stepped on a piece of glass at a restaurant), but one thing is definitely certain: the cut was very bad. Initially, it didn’t seem so serious, but as time went on the injury worsened, eventually requiring surgery.

action from the US Open onwards. For her, however, this wasn’t a problem at all. The Belgian, who suffered a car accident during the tournament, ripped through her opponents and raced to the final, where she met the in-form and newlycrowned world number one Caroline

Her withdrawal from Doha opened the door for some other players to redeem a mediocre season. Jelena Jankovic and Elena Dementieva, for example, badly underperformed this year, letting many opportunities – especially at Slams – slip through their fingers. Sam Stosur, too, hasn’t played her best tennis since making the final at Roland Garros. Vera Zvonareva and Caroline Wozniacki also certainly benefited from the absence of the Williams sisters, and their hopes of clinching the title were greatly improved by the circumstances. Bizarrely, however, none of these players managed to make the most of the situation, and it was Kim Clijsters who, in the end, lifted the trophy. It seems that the Belgian plays her best tennis when she hasn’t practised at all for a long time. After being retired for two years, she reappeared out of nowhere to almost immediately win the US Open. This year, though she has been un-retired for a while, Clijsters suffered an injury which kept her out of

Wozniacki. It was Clijsters who played like the world’s best player though, and she saw off the Dane 6-3, 5-7, 6-3. It was an exciting end to a rather unexciting week. Most of the matches were one-sided affairs that ended in barely an hour. We certainly expected the players to be much more evenly matched – after all, there shouldn’t be that much of

a difference between the world’s top eight players. On the men’s Tour there certainly isn’t. All of this raises a very interesting question: what will life be like on the Tour after the Williams sisters have retired? They are on the wrong side of 30 already, and there have been various rumours throughout the year that one, or perhaps both, of the siblings is contemplating retirement. Serena has been particularly adamant about the fact that she won’t play forever. At one point during the year she told a journalist that if she’s still playing at 38, he must please remove her from the court. The WTA Championships were a taste of what a world without the Williams sisters will be like, and it wasn’t particularly pretty. That isn’t to say that the players who competed in Doha aren’t good – indeed they are incredibly talented – but it will be very hard indeed to fill the shoes of these two legends. We’ve already seen the number one position change hands a few times this year, and it seems logical that it won’t be locked down by anyone for long in the near future. The Tour will be in flux for a while as Serena and Venus wind down their careers and the remaining players scrap for dominance. But once things have settled down we might very well see the emergence of a new Serena – or Steffi, or Monica for that matter. All good things must, sadly, come to an end, and we are very near the end of the Williams era. We must enjoy it while we can, for as these recent injuries have proven, the end can’t be far off. TENNISWORLD

American Dreamer

An Interview with

Ryan Harrison

By David Cox

8 year-old Ryan Harrison captured the imagination of the American public at this year’s US Open, where he hit the headlines with a first round win over 15th seed Ivan Ljubicic. It was the first time an American teenager had beaten a Top Twenty player since Andy Roddick back in 2001. Despite falling in the next round in an epic five setter, the result sent shockwaves through the Tour. As much as American dominance was a feature of the 1990s, men’s tennis has become increasingly ruled by Europe-

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ans over the past decade. Roddick has been unable to break the Federer-Nadal stranglehold on the game and is now approaching the end of his career – it appears his time has been and gone. The sport is desperate for a new American star, and it’s not just the fans. The money men who rule the sport recognise the financial importance of an American at the top of the game, with the vast amounts of TV and sponsorship revenue at stake. As a result, Harrison was snapped up

by marketing giant IMG at the tender age of just 15, a year which saw him become the third youngest player since 1990 to win an ATP match. The stands around his matches at junior tournaments were filled by agents and coaches purring at his potential. There is a lot of pressure on this young man from Texas, but he’s remaining impressively level-headed. We caught up with him to find out more. Q: Well done on your performances at the US Open, you certainly got

the American media excited for a while! What did you take away from all your matches at Flushing Meadows? Playing in New York was such a great experience for me. Coming through qualifying was tough, but those matches helped give me some rhythm and confidence going into the main draw. Beating a player of (Ivan) Ljubicic’s level was really exciting, and even though I lost in the second round after having three match points, the crowd’s enthusiasm and the electricity surrounding the match was awesome. I can’t wait to play the US Open for years to come. Q: What’s it going to feel like going back to the Challenger circuit after the excitement of a Grand Slam? It is definitely going to be tough but it is the reality of my situation. One win against a Top 20 player in the first round of a Grand Slam isn’t going to make a career or make me better. I still need to improve on a lot of things and prove I can beat a lot more players. I have a long career ahead of me and a lot of work to do. Q: What did you make of Rafa Nadal’s achievement in winning the career Grand Slam? Do you think his achievements at the moment rival Roger Federer’s, given that he also has an Olympic gold medal and holds the record for Masters 1000 titles? Rafa is such a great champion and he is great for the sport. He plays with so much passion and he fights 110% on every point, so it was not a surprise to me that he won the career Grand Slam. I think he is showing that he may have TENNISWORLD

what it takes to put his name up there with Roger’s. It will be interesting to see what happens in the next few years. Hopefully I will get a chance to compete against these guys soon as well.

Q: There have been plenty of comparisons going round in the press between yourself and Andy Roddick and even Andre Agassi. Does it bother you having to compare yourself with past American tennis legends and the pressure that brings? I think it is a great honour because Andy and Andre are both great players and have both achieved so much. To be mentioned in the same sentence is very flattering, but I have a lot to do before I can even think about filling their shoes. Q: How important to your development has Nick Bollettieri been as a coach? What does he say to you ahead of big matches like the one against Ivan Ljubicic in round one of the US Open? Nick has been great to me and my entire family. He is a great coach and a great motivator. Even though the time we have spent together on court hasn’t been a lot, he still has helped because he is a legend. You just take in whatever you can get from him. Q: You quit the junior circuit aged just 16. How tough was it to go from the juniors to the pro Tour at that age? As most players continue playing the juniors to 18, what prompted you to go pro that young? I think my dad and my team helped me make this transition by not making me 52

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play a lot of junior events even after I reached the Top 10 in the world junior rankings. In the juniors you can get away with playing a lot of loose points and games, but because I started playing against men at an early age I was forced to learn to focus during the entire course of a match. Obviously, this is still something I am working on and something that every player wants to improve but I feel like I got a bit of a head start on other players my age. Q: Having competed on the main Tour and the Challenger circuit this year, what do you think is the main difference between the players ranked 100-200 and the Top 100 guys? Top 100 guys just have fewer holes in their games and they know how to better use their weapons. Still, the level is not that different now because I think the 100-200 players are getting better. It is very difficult to move up the rankings once you get inside the top 200. You need to win a lot of matches against very good players. Q: What are the areas of your game you’ll be focusing on improving over the off season? I will be working on getting bigger and stronger so I can compete better over the course of tournaments, three, four, five matches in a row. There are also little things in my game that I need to keep working on like positioning and transitioning. Q: What would you say has been the toughest patch of your tennis career? When I had a stress fracture in my back

in 2008 and 2009, I was forced to wear a back brace 23 hours a day for almost 4 months and it was very tough. I wanted to compete so badly but I could only sit and watch. It was not easy but I think I appreciate my health that much more now. Q: How much do you plan ahead before key points in matches? Do you visualise how you would like the point to go, what is likely to happen or do you not think about it too much? I usually go into every match with a pretty specific game plan and I just try to execute that on every point. Sometimes that game plan will change over the course of a match but that is what makes tennis a fun sport. You have to learn to adjust. Q: The ATP has said it’s planning to shorten the season for 2012. If they go ahead, what changes do you think they should make? Would you rather see the Aussie Open start later or the indoor season to finish sooner? It is tough to say because I haven’t played a full ATP schedule yet. The tennis season is long though and I can see why the top players would like it to be shortened. Q: Finally, what’s the most bizarre experience you’ve had when travelling the lower rungs of the tour? I don’t know if I have had any really bizarre things happen, but losing a bet to Andy Roddick and having to walk through the players’ lounge in only a towel this year in Australia was pretty embarrassing!

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The Taller The Better

By Claudio Pistolesi

Tennis players are getting taller every year, and they are changing the nature of the sport with their style of play. However, taller athletes need to approach their physical training in a completely different way. Claudio Pistolesi recently spoke to Andrew Cleary, the strength and conditioning coach for the Washington Wizards, to find out how the giants of the NBA keep fit and healthy, and how tall tennis players can as well.

John Isner, Ivo Karlovic, Juan Martin Del Potro, Marin Cilic...the list of tall top tennis players keeps growing longer every time we look. In August I had the privilege to spend a week training with the Washington Wizards, an experience that gave me an invaluable insight into tall athletes and how their training needs differ from us mere mortals. Andrew Cleary, the team’s strength and conditioning trainer, is a close friend of mine, and helped me understand what these guys go through every day. Cleary has a tennis background as well, and he worked with myself and Monica Seles in 1997 on her fitness. Thereafter,

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he went back to professional basketball and trained Scottie Pippen, one of the greatest basketball players in the history of the sport. He has worked with the Portland Trail Blazers, the Orlando Magic and now the Wizards – an illustrious career indeed. Nobody knows better than him how to train athletes who are taller than two metres, and he shared his thoughts on the future of tennis’ giants. Andrew, are there any particular tricks to training a player who is more than 2 metres tall? “Assuming that the athlete is aware of

his body and knows how to best exploit his advantages – above all, the length of his arms – and mitigate for his disadvantages, I don’t envisage any special tricks.” CENTIMETRE FOR CENTIMETRE THE HEIGHTS OF THE TOP 30

RAFA NADAL: ROGER FEDERER: NOVAK DJOKOVIC: ANDY MURRAY: ROBIN SODERLING: NIKOLAY DAVYDENKO: TOMAS BERDYCH: MIKHAIL YOUZHNY: FERNANDO VERDASCO: DAVID FERRER: ANDY RODDICK: JURGEN MELZER: JO-WILFRIED TSONGA: GAEL MONFILS: MARIN CILIC: NICOLAS ALMAGRO: IVAN LJUBICIC: MARCOS BAGHDATIS: MARDY FISH: JOHN ISNER: STANISLAV WAWRINKA: FELICIANO LOPEZ: ALBERT MONTANES: SAM QUERREY: THOMAZ BELLUCCI: ERNESTS GULBIS: JUAN CARLOS FERRERO: MICHAEL LLODRA: DAVID NALBANDIAN: RADEK STEPANEK:

185 cm 185 cm 188 cm 190 cm 193 cm 178 cm 196 cm 183 cm 188 cm 175 cm 188 cm 183 cm 188 cm 193 cm 198 cm 183 cm 193 cm 183 cm 188 cm 206 cm 183 cm 188 cm 175 cm 198 cm 188 cm 190 cm 183 cm 190 cm 180 cm 185 cm

So, it isn’t true that they have to do extensive weight training... “In recent years, the use of weights to increase strength has become less prevalent. Now it is crucial to ensure that the athlete is well-balanced in terms of their ideal strength. We have to spend a lot time trying to bring back balance that is lost due to the effort that goes into matches. In the middle of the season we play roughly one match every two days, and travel constantly on top of that.”

Tell us about Scottie Pippen, who you worked with for a while “Scottie started at college and he was all physical talent. He developed many other aspects over time, especially in Chicago together with a guy who goes by the name of Michael Jordan. He learned to dribble, feint and

throw to the point that he and Michael became the best basketball duo in history.” Tennis might seem to have very little in common with Basketball, but as I’ve mentioned the makeup of the athletes in these two sports is growing ever closer together. Managing a 2 metre frame is no easy task, and as tennis continues to change, players will do well to look to other sports to try and pick up tips.

This is certainly true for tennis players as well. They travel extensively and play a lot of matches, and need to work hard to maintain their strength and fitness in-between matches. Is there such thing as mental preparation in the NBA? “Not officially within the company, or at least not directly with a mental coach. This is because there are fifteen players in a team. But clearly this is one of a coach’s main responsibilities.”

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A Search For Greatness

It has been 129 years since Isidore F. Hellmuth won the first edition of the Canadian National Championships, one of the oldest tennis tournaments on Earth (now know as the Rogers Masters 1000). Over the next half century many more Canadians would win the title, but this was largely due to the fact that few other nations participated. Since the Open Era, no locals have even reached the final. But why is America’s neighbour so bereft of tennis talent, and is there any hope on the horizon? By Andrea Facchinetti Since the inception of the Grand Slam tournaments, only two Canadian men have reached the quarter-finals of one of these prestigious events. Bobby Powell managed to get to the final eight at Wimbledon in the early 1900s, and Mike Belkin did the same at the 1968 Australian Open. The women haven’t fared much better. Carling Bassett-Seguso got as far as the US Open semi-finals in 1984, and also reached the quarter-finals at Roland Garros and the Australian Open. She was eventually ranked eighth in the world, and to this day is the only Canadian to reach the Top 10. Doubles has, at least, been a bit of a bright spot for the country, but really only because of one man: Daniel Nestor. He clinched Olympic gold with his partner Sebastian Lareau in 2000, and has won six Grand Slam events. He’s currently ranked number three in the world, and has already qualified for the ATP World Tour Finals. Still, all of this seems insignificant compared to the immense success that Canada’s southern neighbour has enjoyed. That is something that Tony Eames, the chairman of Tennis Canada, is keen to put right. He recently launched an unprecedented campaign to boost the sport in his country, starting with a CAD$6.5 million investment thanks to the revenue from 56

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the Rogers Cup. He hopes that this fund will help the number of tennis players in Canada to grow from 1.75 million people to more than 2.1 million in 2012. The ultimate aim, however, is to get Canadian men and women into the Top 50. This last challenge revolves around seven names: MEN: MILOS RAONIC Born in Podgorica (Montenegro) on 7/12/1990 Rank: 157

Miloc Raonic emigrated from Montenegro to North America at the age of three with his parents, and won the national under-18 title three years ago. In 2010, he has started showing some good form on the pro circuit, reaching the final of the Challenger event in Granby, qualifying for the US Open and reaching the quarter-finals of the ATP 250 tournament at Kuala Lumpur. At 6’5’’, this tall young man has as big

serve, but his baseline consistency needs to improve if he wants to make it to the Top 100. FRANK DANCEVIC Born in Niagara Falls (Ontario) on 26/09/1984 Rank: 292 Snatched from ice hockey, which he is crazy about, Frank Dancevic is the most experienced player in the current crop of top Canadian talent (even though he is only 26). A serious back operation took him out of action for the first months of 2010, which severely affected his ranking. He has reached two finals on the ATP Tour and has an attacking game that favours fast surfaces. In 2007, he reached a career-high ranking of 65, and has been a regular on the Canadian Davis Cup team. In 2003, he helped the country gain entry into the World Group for the first time in a decade. He is coached by Martin Laurendeau. PETER POLANSKY Born in Thornhill (Ontario) on 15/06/1988 - Rank: 203 Though obviously talented, Peter Polan-

sky has struggled to stay in the Top 200 thanks to his inconsistent performances. He reached the final of the junior US Open in 2006, and is only the second Canadian to do this (Philip Bester managed to reach the same stage at the junior French Open). His biggest win of the year came against Jurgen Melzer in Toronto (the Austrian made the semi-finals at Roland Garros this year). PHILIP BESTER Born in Sonthoffen (Germany) on 06/10/1986 Rank: 304 Philip Bester had a decent junior career, and went as high as eight in the rankings thanks to a run to the final at the junior but it’s unclear whether she’ll be able to regain the form she enjoyed last year. REBECCA MARINO Born in Toronto (Ontario) on 16/12/1990 Rank: 101 One of Canada’s brightest young prospects, Marino is on the verge of entering the Top 100 at the tender age of 19. She trains at the National Training Centre in Vancouver, and plays her best tennis on hard courts. Having qualified for the US Open, she got as far as the second round before falling to Venus Williams. She also reached the quarter-finals in Quebec City and won an ITF event in Saguenay. French Open. He was national champion at the age of 16, but hasn’t been able to translate that success to the pro Tour. He’s done well at Futures level, but is still a long way away from competing with the big dogs. ALEKSANDRA WOZNIAK Born in Montreal (Quebec) on 07/09/1987 Rank: 126 She surprised the world in 2008 when she won the Stanford tournament, and did even better in 2009 when she reached the fourth round at Roland Garros. Wozniack was on the brink of the Top 20 when, ranked 21, a shoulder injury seriously affected her game. She has great talent, TENNISWORLD

SHARON FICHMAN Born in Toronto (Ontario) on 03/12/1990 Rank: 222 Her season so far has had more lows than highs – so much so that she has won back-to-back matches only twice. She had a great year in 2009, winning a few ITF events and showing great promise, but she has struggled with her consistency in 2010. However, she is still young and will no doubt get better as she gains more experience. JUNIORS While there isn’t much happening at Tour-level, the Junior circuit is filled with promising young Canadian talent. Lead by Edward Nguyen and Filip Peliwo, Canada

his best tennis. • Andrew Sznaider: Highest ranking of 46. • Glenn Michibata: Highest ranking of 48 in 1986. • Frank Dancevic: Highest ranking of 65 in 2007. • Grant Connell: Highest ranking of 67, won four Grand Slam doubles titles. • Chris Pridham: Highest ranking of 75. • Martin Wostenholme: Highest ranking of 1985. • Rejean Genois: Highest ranking of 89. • Martin Laurendeau: Highest ranking of 90. Made the round of sixteen at the US Open. • Bobby Powell: Wimbledon quarter-finalist in the early 1900s. • Mike Belkin: Australian Open quarter-

PAST SUCCESSES

finalist in 1968. • Daniel Nestor: Number one doubles player in 2002, boasts 69 doubles titles, six Slams and an Olympic gold medal.

MEN

WOMEN

• Greg Rusedski: Career-high ranking of fourth in the world, though he switched to British citizenship before he played

• Carling Bassett-Seguso: Highest ranking of eight. She is the only Canadian player in tennis history to have

reached the final of the junior Davis Cup, where they fell to Japan.

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reached the Top Ten in singles. Semifinalist at the 1984 US Open, the same year she made the quarter-finals at Roland Garros. She also reached the quarter-finals at the Australian Open. • Helen Kelesi : Highest ranking of 13 in 1989. Won two WTA titles and reached the quarter-finals in Paris in 1988 and 1989. • Aleksandra Wozniak: Highest ranking \ of 21 in 2009 thanks to a fourth round appearance at Roland Garros. Has one WTA title. • Patricia Hy-Boulais : Highest ranking of 28. Reached the quarter-finals at the 1992 US Open. • Maureen Drake: Highest ranking of 47. Made it to the round of sixteen at the 1999 Australian Open. • Sonya Jeyaseelan : Highest ranking of 48. She was a finalist at the junior French Open and a finalist at Bogota in 1998. • Jana Nejedly : Highest ranking of 64. • Jill Hetherington: Highest ranking of 64 in 1988. Won one title in singles and 14 in doubles. She was ranked number one in doubles thanks to three Grand Slam final appearances. Davis Cup/Fed Cup Canada hasn’t been part of the prestigious World Group in the Davis Cup since 2004. They are currently competing in the American Zone Group I, and will play against Mexico in March of 2011. Canada reached the Davis Cup semi-finals in 1913. A similar situation is to be found in the Fed Cup, where the team is competing in the World Group II. They are playing against Serbia in February. Canada has reached the Fed Cup quarter-finals times (1964, 1967, 1987 and 1998).

Does Hawk-Eye Need A Pair Of Glasses?

By Alessandro Mastroluca

“You cannot be serious!” Tennis fans are well familiar with this phrase, though it sounds a bit strange coming from the mouth of a university Professor. But Harry Collins and Dr. Robert Evans love using this phrase, especially since it so neatly sums up their academic conclusions regarding the controversial Hawk-Eye system. The two researchers from Cardiff University have, at the risk of being labelled as oldfashioned and needlessly nostalgic, decided to put Hawk-Eye through some rigorous tests, and have found it wanting. No technology is perfect, and the manufacturers of the revolutionary technique are the first to acknowledge this: they freely admit that there is a margin of error of about 3.6mm on average. It is a matter of mere millimetres, but in tennis that could mean the difference between a ball being called in or out. “Technologies such as Hawk-Eye are meant to relegate line-call controversies to the past,” Professor Collins says. “However, our analysis has shown that

Hawk-Eye does not always get it right and should not be relied on as the definitive decision-maker.” The study suggests that Hawk-Eye isn’t accurate enough to use regularly in close decisions, and should perhaps be used in a supporting role instead. For example, when a linesperson’s concentration wavers and they miss an obvious call, HawkEye should be used to correct it. But for calls that are so close that the human eye couldn’t tell the difference, it simply isn’t reliable enough to make the final decision. If a ball looks out to all observers, but the system sees it as in by a millimetre, we should rather stick with the original call than overturn it. The researchers also would like to see each Hawk-Eye decision being accompanied by some sort of confidence interval (as is used for election polling, for example). This would allow fans to better understand the fact that the technology isn’t omnipotent, and that there is a chance of it being wrong. Dr. Paul Hawkins, managing director of Hawk-Eye Innovations, disagrees. “Wimbledon [for example] is an event broadcast all over the world, and the organisation that manages it would never have approved an improperly tested technology. Hawk-Eye has undergone thousands of tests and it got every

one right. The ITF decided that 5mm was an acceptable margin of error, and HawkEye’s level of accuracy is well under that.” Sports in general – and tennis in particular – have to strike a very delicate balance between innovation and tradition. New technology can be very seductive, and even though it might look cool and make things more exciting, we must always carefully consider whether the pros outweigh the cons. The jury is still out on Hawk-Eye, but one thing is for sure: it isn’t going anywhere. TENNISWORLD

Looking Back A study of the greatest champions of Grand Slam history

Bjorn Borg Swedish Supremacy By Rino Tommasi Bjorn Borg won 62 titles in his illustrious – if somewhat shortened – tennis career. There are only five men in the history of the sport that have done better: Jimmy Connors (109), Ivan Lendl (94), John McEnroe (77), Roger Federer (65) and Pete Sampras (64). It speaks volumes of Borg’s brilliance that it has taken the combined effort of two of the greatest players in history to equal some of his records. Roger Federer won five consecutive Wimbledon titles (as Borg did), and Nadal won four straight Roland Garros championships (as Borg did). Neither was able to break even one of these records, let alone both. Whenever people ask me who the best tennis player of all time is, I just say that I don’t know. Comparing greats from different eras – with different racquets, balls, surfaces and schedules – is simply

impossible. The new racquets the players use allow them to hit the each shot with such violence and speed that reaction time is significantly shortened. There is no longer time to think – the game has been reduced to its bare essentials. The drop shot has almost disappeared, and volleying has become an almost impossible adventure. Airplanes allow easy movement between continents that at one time was not only impossible, but also unthinkable. Television offers the ability to observe your adversaries, to study their form, to discover their defects and weaknesses. It is clear that, with all these variables, there is no way to properly compare the best players of each era. Instead of being forced to choose just one all-time great, I’d rather list about seven or eight champions who should be taken into conside-

ration. Beyond that, choosing a favourite is a reflection of personal preferences rather than any objective measurement. That being said, there is at least one common factor for comparison between players: their results at Slam tournaments. Naturally, even here there are elements that befuddle any generalisations we’d like to make. For one, it has only been for the last 25-30 that each Slam has been considered an elite tournament. The US and Australian Opens were for years considered somewhat inferior, and some of the best players in the world didn’t even bother to attend these events. So with that in mind, let’s have a look at Bjorn Borg’s Slam record. I would contest that he is the player who, throughout his career, won the most at these tournaments. Or, at least, who lost the least. Naturally, Borg’s numbers are enhanced due to the shortness of his career. He was only 26 when he abandoned tennis, thus saving himself from a period of decline and poor results. But consider this: Borg only played at only Australian Open once, when he was only 17 years old. He never returned, mostly because at this time the Australian Open was the least glamorous of the four Slams, and it was a long way to travel for such an event. Of course, the Swede won the most prestigious double-whammy in tennis (Roland Garros and Wimbledon) four times during his career. However, he never managed to win a US Open title, despite appearing in the final four times. Had he managed to bag one, he might have ven-

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tured down under to attempt the Grand Slam, but alas it was not to be. Although his incredible record of five consecutive Wimbledon victories was equalled by Roger Federer, what Borg accomplished at Roland Garros – six victories in eight years – seems a tall order even for someone as brilliant as Rafael Nadal. Bjorn Borg played 51 matches at the French Open, and won 49 of them. He

only lost twice – both times to Adriano Panatta, in the fourth round in 1973 and in the quarter-finals in 1976. Twice he managed to win the event without even losing a set (1978 and 1980), something that only Nadal has managed to do since. It is perhaps important that we look more closely at the fact that Borg never won in New York. Why did he fail each of the four times he reached the final (twice against Connors on the battered green clay of Forest Hills, and twice against

John McEnroe)?. Well, the most natural explanation is that Borg, practically unbeatable on clay, had some problems on hard courts. On grass, he perfected a two-handed sliced backhand that allowed him to get close to the net, where he was practically unbeatable. On hard courts and the strange green clay of Forest Hills this tactic didn’t work as well, and he was vulnerable to people who specialised in these surfaces It is also important to remember that Borg TENNISWORLD

YEAR SLAM V S

OPPONENT

1972 US - 1973 RG + + + - WIM + + + + - US + + + - AUS + ++ - 1974 RG + + + + + + + WIM + + - US + - 1975 RG + + + + + + + WIM + + + + - US + + + + + - 1976 RG + + + + - WIM + + + + + + +

R Emerson C Richey P Barthes D Stockton A Panatta P Lall P Hombergen K Meiler S Baranyi R Taylor R Barth J B Chanfreau A Ashe N Pilic T Roepke M Lara P Dent J F Caujolle T Ovici J L Rouyer E Van Dillen R Ramirez H Solomon M Orantes G Stilwell R Case I El Shafei V Amaya V Amritraj N Holmes P Szoke J Hrebec S Smith H Solomon A Panatta G Vilas J Andrew M Holecek J Fillol M Riessen A Ashe S Mayer M Estep R Case R Laver E Dibbs J Connors D Bedel H Kary T Zugarelli F Jauffret A Panatta D Lloyd M Riessen C Dibley B Gottfried G Vilas R Tanner I Nastase

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SET P P 1-3 2-0 2-1 3-1 1-3 3-0 3-0 3-2 3-2 2-3 3-2 3-1 3-1 1-3 2-1 wo 0-3 2-1 2-0 3-0 3-2 3-2 3-1 3-2 3-1 3-1 0-3 3-1 2-3 2-0 2-0 3-0 3-0 3-0 3-1 3-0 3-0 3-1 3-1 3-1 1-3 2-0 2-0 2-0 3-1 3-1 0-3 3-1 3-0 3-0 3-2 1-3 3-0 3-0 3-0 3-0 3-0 3-0 3-0

1 1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4 Q 1 2 3 4 1 2 3 1 2 3 4 Q S F 1 2 3 1 2 1 2 3 4 Q S F 1 2 3 4 Q 1 2 3 4 Q S 1 2 3 4 Q 1 2 3 4 Q S F

4 3

W 3 2

US + C Letcher 2-0 1 + J Fillol 2-1 2 + J Lloyd 2-0 3 + B Gottfried 3-2 4 + M Orantes 3-2 Q + I Nastase 3-0 S - J Connors 1-3 F 1977 WIM + T Zugarelli 3-0 1 + M Edmondson 3-2 2 + N Pilic 3-0 3 + W Fibak 3-0 4 + I Nastase 3-0 Q + V Gerulaitis 3-2 S + J Connors 3-2 F US + T Waltke 2-0 1 + J James 2-0 2 + O Parun 2-0 3 - D Stockton 1-1* 4 1978 RG + E Deblicker 3-0 1 + R Fagel 3-0 2 + P Bertolucci 3-0 3 + R Tanner 3-0 4 + R Ramirez 3-0 Q + C Barazzutti 3-0 S + G Vilas 3-0 F WIM + V Amaya 3-2 1 + P McNamara 3-0 2 + J Fillol 3-1 3 + G Masters 3-0 4 + S Mayer 3-0 Q + T Okker 3-0 S + J Connors 3-0 F US + B Hewitt 2-0 1 + H Gunthardt 2-0 2 + B Mitton 2-1 3 + H Solomon 3-0 4

didnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t have the perfect game, and could be taken advantage of by certain players. His greatest strengths instead were his mental strength and athletic ability. Few people need to be reminded of the epic tie-breaker he played against John McEnroe in the Wimbledon final of 1980. In one of the most incredible matches in tennis history, he held seven match points but failed to convert any of them. When his American opponent won that fourth set, most people were certain that heâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;d win the match as well. Surely nobody could overcome such an incredible mental knock and recover to win the fifth set. Borg disagreed, however, and in one of the most incredible displays of mental fortitude won the last set 8-6, and with it his fifth and final Wimbledon title. When he quit tennis at the bizarrely young

age of 26, Borg was at the peak of his powers. We can only imagine what he might have done had he not retired, but alas we will never know. What he did during his brief career is nothing short of astounding, and the numbers alone tell us that he should make our list of the best players of all time. There is certainly an argument to be made that he was, in fact, the best of them all. While many people hold this opinion I will, of

+ + - 1979 RG + + + + + + + WIM + + + + + + + US + + + + - 1980 RG + + + + + + + WIM + + + + + + + US +

R Ramirez V Gerulaitis J Connors T Smid Tom Gullickson R Moore G Moretton H Gildemeister V Gerulaitis V Pecci T Gorman V Amritraj H Pfister B Teacher T Okker J Connors R Tanner M Mitchell D Carter J Fillol D Stockton R Tanner A Fillol A Gomez P Portes B Taroczy C Barazzutti H Solomon V Gerulaitis I El Shafei S Glickstein R Frawley B Taroczy G Mayer B Gottfried J McEnroe G Aubone

3-1 3-0 0-3 3-1 3-1 3-0 3-0 3-0 3-0 3-1 3-1 3-2 3-0 3-1 3-0 3-0 3-2 3-0 3-0 3-0 3-1 1-3 3-0 3-0 3-0 3-0 3-0 3-0 3-0 3-0 3-0 3-1 3-0 3-0 3-1 3-2 3-0

Q S F 1 2 3 4 Q S F 1 2 3 4 Q S F 1 2 3 4 Q 1 2 3 4 Q S F 1 2 3 4 Q S F 1

course, decline to comment. For me, it is enough to say that he is one of the elite few to be worthy of consideration for such an honour.

+ J Sadri 3-1 2 + P McNamara 3-1 3 + Y Noah 3-0 4 + R Tanner 3-2 Q + J Kriek 3-2 S - J McEnroe 2-3 F 1981 RG + J Lopez Maeso 3-0 1 + C Motta 3-0 2 + P Torre 3-0 3 + T Moor 3-0 4 + B Taroczy 3-0 Q + V Pecci 3-0 S + I Lendl 3-2 F WIM + P Rennert 3-0 1 + M Purcell 3-0 2 + R Gehring 3-0 3 + V Gerulaitis 3-0 4 + P McNamara 3-0 Q + J Connors 3-2 S - J McEnroe 1-3 F US + M Gunthardt 3-0 1 + L Stefanki 3-0 2 + D Carter 3-0 3 + Y Noah 3-1 4 + R Tanner 3-1 Q + J Connors 3-0 S - J McEnroe 1-3 F % W AUS 1 1=1 50 0 RG 8 49=2 96 6 WIM 9 51=4 93 5 US 10 40=10 80 0 28 141=17 89 11

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F F 0 0 1 4 5

THE BACKHAND VOLLEY By Massimiliano Grancini

Not an easy shot As I mentioned in my previous article on the forehand volley, this shot is not very natural for beginners. The faster pace of play near the net forces you to use shorter and more compact movements, and without the correct technique – which can only be acquired through hours of training – it is difficult

Photo 1

since it is a much more versatile shot than the two-handed volley. Beginners who use two hands from the baseline will find this counterintuitive, but it is better in the long run to use one hand from the start. Let us have a look at all the relevant details to make sure that we can play a technically correct shot.

The grip As mentioned before, it is advisable to use a single grip for both volleys because of the fast pace of play at the net. You won’t have time to change it before hitting a volley, so having one grip for both shots is essential. The grip universally recognised as the most suitable for this type of shot is the Continental grip. (photo 1), since it allows for play on either side of the body with ease and

Photo 2

to execute the movements correctly in such a short span of time. People who haven’t been playing tennis for very long will find the backhand volley especially difficult, since the motor skills of the left (if you are right-handed) side of the body are generally more limited. It is advisable to start with a onehanded volley from the very beginning,

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Massimiliano Grancini is a Tennis Coach with the Italian Tennis Federation and Professional PTR. He is the founder and director of the website www. iltennista.com, the first tennis teaching website in Italy. effectiveness. However, if you are a beginner you might find it easier to use an Eastern Backhand grip (photo 2). That being said, I would advise you to try and memorise a single grip as soon as possible.

Photo 3

Photo 4

The waiting position This too is almost identical to the one we saw in the forehand volley: 1 – Racquet held high above the level of the net and straight up in front of you 2 – Legs slightly bent and torso leaning forward 3 – Raised heels photo 3

(in line with the back shoulder). This is because the dominant shoulder here is already in front of the body, and as a result you can have greater preparation

Photo 5

The impact Especially in the early learning stages, the impact will have to be as stable as possible. In order to achieve this I would advise you to use as little wrist as possible.

Short and compact backswing For this volley, the entire backswing phase needs to be shortened and accelerated. Your movement, particularly in the early learning stages, will be limited to simply taking the racquet towards the trajectory of the ball in order to hit it in front of your body. A substantial difference compared to the forehand volley lies in the fact that the racquet can be taken further back

short, and in general will be limited to a few centimetres towards the trajectory of the ball. You should simply try to take the racquet forward, always keeping the string bed facing the opponent.

A good trick is to lock the wrist on impact, making the shot more of a “blocking” manoeuvre than a normal stroke. This will keep your wrist stable and increase the accuracy of the shot.

without compromising the effectiveness of the shot. Forward swing

The main difference between the forehand and backhand volley, especially if you are already using a single grip, is in the impact phase. The difference lies in the fact that the dominant shoulder in the backhand volley is in front of the body, which allows you to put power into the shot even if the impact is in line with the shoulder or slightly behind it. This is absolutely impossible with a forehand volley.

The forward swing also needs to be

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Photo 6

Follow-through The follow-through for the backhand volley should be very short, and end with the strings facing slightly facing the target and the tip of the racquet pointing outwards (see the video with the practice movement). Only later on, and with

some experience, will you be able to increase the follow-through, depending on the requirements of the shot.

get thrust from the backswing (as is the case with baseline shots). The energy imparted on the ball will be derived almost exclusively from your body as you step forward to hit the volley. This step must be with the foot opposite to the shot (i.e. your left foot if you are righthanded).

A very important detail to remember is that the foot must make impact with the ground at the same time the ball hits the strings. If the step is taken too soon or too late, that energy will not be transferred into the shot, which means that your volley will be weak and ineffective.

Footwork This is a very important element of the volley, since you wonâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t be able to

With all of these tips, you are well on your way to becoming a proficient net player. photo 7 - video 3

Photo 7

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The Better Backhand Debate

part 2

One or two hands? by Scott Mitchell

One the longest-running debates in tennis concerns the backhand. People often want to know if it is better to use two hands (as Rafael Nadal and most professionals do), or one hand (like Roger Federer and some other elite players). Last month we had a close look at the two-handed backhand, and this issue we’ll focus on the one-hander. Many past champions have used one-handed backhands, such as Pete Sampras, Martin Navratilova, Justine Henin and Roger Federer, to name only a few. Sampras famously changed from a two-handed shot to a one-handed stroke late in his junior career, and history tells us that this controversial move didn’t work out too badly for the American. These days, however, players are looking for extra power, and the two-hander definitely has that potential. As a reminder, here are some of the pros and cons of the one and two-handed backhands. One handed backhand

Scott, a former #1 Mixed Doubles player in the United States, is the Head Tennis Professional at Charlotte Country Club (CCC) in North Carolina. CCC is ranked one of the Top 14 country clubs by Platinum Clubs of America-Club Forum. Scott was the Assistant Coach for Georgia Perimeter College when the team won four straight National Championships. In 2009, he was named PTR Clinician of the Year. He is currently working on a tennis DVD. - Easier to generate topspin on most shots

Pros - Much easier to hit low balls - Easier to reach for balls - Can more effectively cover shots hit directly at your body - More comfortable to adapt and hit a slice backhand if needed Cons - Tough to hit balls that rise high on your backhand side - Not nearly as powerful for most players as the two-handed version - Can be more difficult to hit sharp angles - Can be more difficult to hit heavy topspin

Cons - Tough to play balls that are below knee height - Footwork needs be much better since two hands limits your reach - Tough to cover balls hit directly at you - More difficult to hit slice backhands since you aren’t used to letting go with one hand

Two handed backhand Pros - Easier to hit balls high above the shoulder - Two hands on the racquet generally gives you more power - Can create more angles with the cor rect wrist movement

Photo 1

Photo 2

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Remember: both backhands are great but both have their limitations. You must decide which one feels more comfortable and suits your game better. Let’s have a closer look at the one-handed backhand, and I’ll give you some tips on how to make this shot a solid part of your repertoire. Photo 1 Notice the contact point for the onehanded backhand in this photo. It is usually a bit further forward than the contact point for the two-handed backhand.

being used. Photo 3 In this photo, you see the follow-through for the one-handed backhand. Notice that the racquet arm forms almost an “L” shape. Making sure your shoulder does most of the work, and that very little wrist is being used – this will put you in this “L” shape. Also notice that the shoulders and hips do not rotate through as with the two-handed backhand. Too much rotation will give you a lack of consistency and control. To stay sideways for longer, throw your non-playing arm backwards as the racquet arm swings forward. In this photo you can clearly see the arms swinging in opposite directions during the swing. Photo 3

Photo 2 In this photo, you see the contact point for the two-handed backhand. It is usually slightly back from where the contact is for the one-handed shot. This is due to the fact that you have two hands on the racquet, as well as the different grip which is

Photo 4

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Photo 4 Here you can see an incorrect swing. The head position in this photo is bent over too far, and will cause the shoulders to hunch forward as well. When executing the one-handed backhand correctly, the head position should be up and balanced through the swing. If a book was placed on the head it should remain there throughout the swing without falling off. Photo 5 Here is one last look at a proper head position and swing for the one-handed backhand. Again, notice the position of the head, arms, shoulders and hips at the completion of the swing.

Photo 5

Goal Setting in Tennis By Marina Gerin Birsa, Sports Psychologist www.psymedisport.com Setting goals for oneself is not a new concept for either athletes or coaches, but it is a one that is regularly neglected or completely ignored. Goals are often not “well formed,” by which I mean that they are vague, contradictory, illdirected or too ambitious. Goal setting is one of the major mental preparation exercises for tennis players, though it is easily overlooked due to the fact that it is such a natural activity. We set goals in our everyday lives as well, but particular attention must be paid to our goals as athletes. Understanding exactly what it is we want to achieve in a certain period of time provides a focus point for our efforts on the court, and often leads to improved results. However, having a goal is only one part of the equation. The other is to actually strive towards that goal – to doggedly pursue it even if the going gets tough. We must also be very aware of what kind of goals we are setting for ourselves. We might have the right motivation and the right passion to strive towards a goal that states “win a Grand Slam,” but we must be realistic about our abilities and expectations. Setting small goals and achieving them is much more rewarding that setting massive goals that aren’t realistically achievable. Once those goals have been reached, it is also important to set new goals, else we might drift astray and become demotivated by not having a new target to aim for. Here are some tips for effective goal setting: - Define the goal in a clear and accurate way: the coach must try and explain to the athlete the rationale behind one choice over another, and the decision must be taken jointly. - The goal must be meaningful. A goal without much mean ing will lose value and will not constitute a good challenge. - Establish specific and measurable goals. In the case of matches and tournaments it is easier, because one can focus on victory or defeat. When it comes to more intangible measures (such as improving concentration), it is advisable to use scales (for example, how much did you improve on a scale of 1 to 10?).

Have goals for the short, medium and long term. Reflect on goals that have been reached, and use them as motivation for future successes. Knowing that you are able to reach the goals you set is an important element in improving as a player. Prioritise performance goals. There are two types of goals: performance and outcome. A performance goal involves improving a certain athletic skill (such as improving your forehand or backhand) or mental ability (attention, communication with the coach etc.). An outcome goal is related to match wins. Initially it is better to focus on performance goals before moving on to the more difficult – and less predictable – outcome goals later on. Prioritise performance goals by giving them a rating or importance. This makes it easier to manage them. Formulate the goal in positive terms. Scientific literature shows us how detrimental and ineffective it is to focus on a sentence that contains the term “not” (I must NOT make so many mistakes; I must NOT keep my legs so stiff). Generally this leads us to achieve the exact opposite of what we want. Therefore, we absolutely have to change this sentence from negative to positive (my hand will be firm; I will be loose and relaxed, calm and in control of myself; my movement will be fluid). Plan out how you will achieve the goal. The coach must TENNISWORLD

supply a detailed work programme which addresses the goals that the student is striving for. Provide an evaluation of the goal. At the end of the performance, both the player and coach must analyse the situation and rate how well the goal has been achieved.

When constructing “well formed” goals, there are a number of factors to take into account: - - - -

The goal must be important and meaningful on a personal level All consequences – positive and negative – need to be evaluated Other people’s interests (coach, family, friends) need to be taken into account First-person experiences must be sought out when

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deciding on a goal Expectations of success and the possibility of failure must be addressed Players must believe that they can achieve the goals that are being set

Now, let’s do an exercise. If you are an athlete, start compiling the Goal Table by beginning with your most recent goals, and then moving on to short, medium and long term ones. The table will serve as a record of your goals and a measure of your progress. A month after completing the table, check it again to see how you are coming along with your stated goals. GOAL TABLE Most recent goal:________________________________

Short term goal

Medium term goal

Long term goal

Goal definition: Is it an outcome or result goal? Is it a technical, physical or psychological goal? Where are you on a scale from 1 to 10? Where will you be on a scale from 1 to 10 once you have achieved your goal?

Let’s look at an example. John has recently achieved a goal that was very meaningful to him: winning an important tournament. He now formulates his next goal: improving his net play. It is a performance goal (and a technical goal), and he wants to improve his play from a level 6 to a level 7 in a month’s time. In the medium term (in six months’ time), John would like to focus on the management of national and international events, which he rates as highly stressful. Again, this is a performance goal (and a psychological one). He is currently at

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level 4, and would like to be at level 7 in six months’ time. In the long term (in nine months’ time), John wants to win a national tournament of substantial importance. This is an outcome goal (and a technical goal). He is currently at level 3 and would like to move to level 10. If you are a coach, ask your athletes to fill in the table. Work with them to think of the most suitable goals for them in the short, medium and long term.

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ENERGY WHERE IT MATTERS

YOU BUY…WHAT YOU THINK ABOUT! By Matt Traverso

I read something the other day that stuck in my mind. It is such a bewildering thought and at the same time such an obvious one, that I can’t believe it hasn’t occurred to me before… “Our thoughts are like MONEY.” Think about this statement for a moment. In other words, everything you think about, you BUY. We have all heard about the principle according to which our attention determines our emotional state and therefore the quality of the results we achieve. This is clear. If you really want something hard enough and focus all your energy on attaining it, you will most probably achieve it. If instead you do not focus on attaining it, you won’t.

person who pushes his product aggressively won’t stand much of a chance to make his sale. If thoughts are money then, and if we buy what we think about, the importance of a positive mental focus becomes obvious. For instance, if every month when you get your salary you had to go out and buy all the things you don’t want, you would find this ridiculous, wouldn’t you? Then be as frugal with your thoughts as you are with your money. How?

But the concept of the money metaphor takes this principle to a new level. It implies that we can even achieve things we DON’T want, if we think about them hard enough. Therefore if you keep thinking “I don’t want to be poor. I hate having no money. I don’t earn enough to buy what I want.” If you SPEND the majority of your thoughts on the experience of being poor, this is exactly what you will get. We all know people who complain all the time about how unlucky they are, and how events are always against them. And when we take a close look at their lives, what do we notice? They are right! They actually seem to be unluckier than the average person. How can this be? Well, let us consider a salesman who is concerned about not making his sale, and who cannot think of anything else. Do you think he will be relaxed or nervous during his sales pitch? Do you think he will be more concerned with solving his customers’ problems or selling his product? Do you think he will respond to his customers’ objections with empathy or defensively? Clearly, a nervous and defensive sales 72

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Remember: you are the people you spend your time with. 5. Furnish and decorate your home with images and colours that make you feel good. Listen to exciting, energising and stimulating music. Get used to asking yourself “What can I focus on in order to improve the experience I am living?” In his renowned book “Think and Grow Rich”, Napoleon Hill wrote, “You must have ABSOLUTE CONTROL of one thing: your thoughts. If you can’t control the mind, you can rest assured that you will control nothing else.”

In this way: 1. Increase your awareness of the times you harbour negative thoughts. Become used to asking yourself: “How is my thinking right now? Is it positive or negative? 2. If your focus is negative, replace it with its positive opposite. Instead of thinking about all that is lacking in your life, concentrate on what you have and your future opportunities. Get into the habit of asking yourself: “What do I like best in my life?” 3. Fight off external negative influences tooth and nail. Steer clear from people that always whinge. Control the input of amplified and negative messages from the media. Get into the habit of asking yourself “What is influencing my attention right now; is it positive or negative? 4. Surround yourself with positive influences (or pay attention to what is around you). Do not blame the environment, the economy or your potential. You have all you need; you just have to feed your mind. Look for role models; associate frequently with energising people, people who inspire you and light up your spirit. Join a ‘mastermind group’ (a group of people with similar interests); this kind of association will improve your life more than anything else.

With a constant positive mental focus, you will prepare a fertile ground where success and fulfilment will take root and grow. With a negative focus, your life will become ever more polluted, thus killing your dreams even before they are given a chance. Matt Traverso, a world expert in coaching and motivational development, brings with him a new way to approach development, which combines technical training with strategies focussed on best exploiting each person’s great potential and resources. His practical and deeply effective courses have been chosen by some of the most prestigious firms in Italy and abroad. His coaching sessions are in demand with entrepreneurs, managers, executives, doctors, lawyers, athletes and many showbiz celebrities. A leader in Europe in Success Coaching, Matt works very closely with Anthony Robbins, the best known success coach in the world, on whose behalf he holds courses and seminars in America and elsewhere in the world. Repeatedly a guest on Italian TV talk show “The Maurizio Costanzo Show”, Matt features frequently in many newspapers, magazines and TV shows, in England and Italy. He is the author of seven books: The Abundance Zone - Your A-Z of Successful Living; Health is a choice. Choose to be healthy; The New Bilology of Health; Quantum Coaching; The Pillars of Influence; The NLP Professional Training Manual; Coaching for Results. To find out more, go to: : www.matttraverso.com

How to Look After Your Feet It is a well-known fact that a sportsperson’s feet take 3-4 times more strain during their sporting activities than those of a person just standing around in normal circumstances. The quick “stop and start” movements during a tennis match take their toll on the feet, and so people need to take care of their feet and wear appropriate shoes. By Gina Badenhorst - NHDip Podiatry (SA) / BSc Hon in Podiatry (UK) The following tips will help you keep your feet in good shape: • Wash your feet daily. • When drying, make sure you dry well in-between your toes. • If your feet tend to be dry, apply an emollient (cream). The best time to do this is after a bath or shower, when absorption into the skin is at a maximum. However, do not apply the cream in-between the toes. There are numerous foot creams available, and the higher the urea factor of the product the more moisturising it is for the feet. • Use a pumice stone for cracked heels. • Wear clean, dry, cotton socks daily when playing tennis. • Make sure that the toenails are kept short (in order to pre vent lifting of the nails with sudden stops and changes of direction). • Don’t pop blisters, as they have sterile fluid inside that will help to protect the healing of the “raw” skin below. Sport shoes in general have come a long way and millions of dollars are spent every year on improving sport footwear technology, but unfortunately the advances of “court” (netball, tennis, squash) shoes have not kept up with the advances of biomechanical technology (motion of the feet). Court shoes are mainly aimed at coping with traction and counteracting wear and tear, whereas running shoes have built-in technology to withstand pronation (rolling in), support supination (rolling out) and absorb shock.

longest toe. In most feet the longest toe is the big toe, but in some individuals the longer toe is the second one. The shoe must therefore accommodate the second toe, otherwise it will be crushed against the end of the shoe and become a hammer toe over time. If you are having some problems with your feet or feel that they aren’t performing as well as they should be, it is perhaps a good idea to visit a podiatrist. A podiatrist is a health professional who deals with the prevention, diagnosis, treatment and rehabilitation of medical conditions of the feet and lower limbs. They are specialists in foot function and will be able to help you improve your foot function and ultimately your performance. The conditions that podiatrists treat include pathologies ranging from skin and nail disorders, corns, warts or ingrown nails to lower limb injuries sustained through sport or other activities, as well as diabetic and circulatory conditions.

Where does this leave the tennis player? Firstly, if you have played tennis for a long time and haven’t ended up with a chronic injury such as Achilles Tendonitis, it probably means that your foot biomechanics (way in which your feet function) are quite sound. However, if you are prone to chronic knee pain or pain in the arch of your feet, it may be that your foot biomechanics are not very sound and that it causes chronic injuries that will affect your performance in the long run. Your feet are the foundation of your body and need additional support in the right areas. Tennis players in general seem to be unsure whether to buy their shoes a size too small or a size too large in order to counteract the breaking motion when stopping. There is no need to buy your shoe a size bigger, as long as you can fit your own thumb width between the end of the shoe and the end of your TENNISWORLD

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The Philosophy of Tennis “Tennis can explain most things in life, if not all of them”

Lilly Raffa

The “life-tennis” parallel By Lilly Raffa

few years ago, a 30 year-old pupil and friend of mine, partly infected by my passion for tennis, partly due to his natural inclination, fell so ill with the sport that he became a carrier of the “bug.” He became so bad that he started relating every moment, action and choice of his daily life to the tactical and strategic aspects of tennis. Everything, he reasoned, can be translated to the language of tennis. This got me thinking about the parallel between tennis and life. Until about ten years ago, there were roughly four types of players that had evolved throughout the history of the game, and which could be pretty easily matched up to certain personality types. For instance, some people live their lives in a guarded, mostly passive manner, rarely taking the initiative and always waiting for something to happen to them. They are focused mostly on defending themselves and reacting to the events around them. In tennis, this description very neatly corresponds to a defensive baseliner. Then there are people who are afraid of nothing and who jump into any situation with only minimal thought of the consequences. They realise that they will make mistakes in life, but are prepared to make them as long as it means that they can live life on their own terms. Here we have a typical offensive baseliner (such as Andre Agassi, to make the comparison a little clearer). Serve and volleyers are the type of people who are always compelled to move forward with that extra dose of determination. They are well aware of their own limitations (and strengths), and also of the dangers inherent in remaining idle for too long. The last type of player is, for lack of a better word, the “genius.” People like Pete Sampras and Roger Federer who

can play any kind of tennis on any day and any court, and always play the right shot at the right moment. They too will make some mistakes, but in their case their natural talents far outweigh their concerns over such things. In real life, this type of person can adapt to any situation and excel in most of them. Serve and volley players have been on the path to extinction for many years (due to the high speed of the modern game, which doesn’t allow players the opportunity to move to the net). On the other hand, defensive baseliners have been forced to become more proactive and aggressive in order to survive. Since the dawn of the Federer-Nadal era, tennis players have come to be divided into two distinct groups: “time thieves” and “space thieves”. Roger belongs to the first category, while Rafa belongs to the second. If we had to consider a further parallel between life and tennis, the former of these two categories would include people with considerable intellectual gifts, who have the capacity to act quickly and decisively. They can anticipate likely future situations and their potential outcomes, and are able to act promptly and logically in order to get to the goal (the ball) as soon as possible. The second category would include everyone who, with sacrifice, commitment and constant effort tries to impose their control on each situation inch by inch, ultimately triumphing thanks to their greatest asset: perseverance. Which of these two personality types is more desirable on a tennis court is a matter for personal opinion, and perhaps we are simplifying things a bit. But next time you step on the court, consider whether you live your life as you play your tennis. I’m sure you’ll find more of a parallel than you would imagine. TENNISWORLD

Classic Tennis Reads

By Philip Maré

Name: Pete Sampras: A Champion’s Mind Author: Pete Sampras Pages: 292 (Hardcover edition) Publisher: Crown Publishing First Published: 2008 Rating: 9/10 Few tennis rivalries survive past retirement. Sure, Jimmy Connors still seems to hate just about everyone, and Boris Becker and Andre Agassi aren’t exactly exchanging Christmas cards, but for the most part the pros get on pretty well after they’ve called it a day. Perhaps the most striking example of on-court antagonism spilling over into life after tennis is the relationship between Pete Sampras and Andre Agassi. Their dislike for each other was put on display during the Hit for Haiti charity event earlier this year, where Roger Federer and Sampras took on Rafael Nadal and Agassi in an exhibition doubles match. At one point Agassi teased Sampras about being cheap, which his rival didn’t take very well. Before long they were almost bickering across the net, making tennis fans – along with Federer and Nadal – cringe. All of this happened just after the release of Agassi’s autobiography, which occasionally poked fun at Sampras. Someone actually said to me that Sampras should write his own book and get back at Agassi, at which point I told him that he already did. He had no idea. Indeed, most people don’t, as the book was released to little fanfare two years ago. Like Sampras himself, it was quietly successful, but made no outrageous claims or confessions, and so It didn’t get the same coverage as Agassi’s effort. There is an ironic parallel between the two men’s careers and their literary labours. Both were successful, but Agassi was much louder about it, and in the end Sampras was always just a little better. Now, before we start praising Sampras too much for his writing skills, it’s worth pointing out that the book was co-authored by Peter Bodo, an editor and columnist for Tennis magazine. This is fair enough, seeing as most sports biographies are written with the help of a professional writer. Bodo does an excellent job of weaving Sampras’ countless anecdotes into a coherent narrative, and he deserves a mention. The book starts off, as these things often do, with an account of Sampras’ childhood and his early tennis years. Unlike Agassi, who spends a fair portion of his book discussing his many family issues, Sampras doesn’t spend too much time on such details. Sports autobiographies have a delicate balance 76

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to strike – readers likely want to know more about the person’s professional life than their private one, and spending too much time on personal issues can often make the account lose steam. Luckily, A Champion’s Mind is perhaps the finest example of a book that manages to paint a decent portrait of the sportsman, but still keeps the focus firmly on the sport. In fact, more than any other tennis book of this type, A Champion’s Mind gives the reader a fantastic glimpse into the life of a professional tennis player. Sampras starts each chapter with a little scorecard that details the most important matches of a particular year, and then continues to discuss them in the subsequent pages. It works marvellously well as a formula, and gives one the feeling of being taken on a private tour of this legend’s career. He walks the reader through many of his battles, discusses his myriad of records and what they mean to him, as well as the players he looked up to most as both a youngster and a pro. He also dispels as number of myths that have sprung up about him. For example, at the 1995 Australian Open, Sampras faced fellow American Jim Courier. The two had a healthy rivalry and the match was intense. Shortly before the match, Sampras had found out that his long-time coach was terminally ill. Engaged in a dogfight in the fifth set, a fan yelled out “Come on Pete, do it for your coach!” An emotional Sampras was crying and could barely continue playing, and Courier even offered to postpone the match to the next day. However, in a miraculous effort Sampras managed a comeback and won the deciding set.

the fan shouting at him, and that those words had no effect on his performance at all. There are several similar anecdotes in A Champion’s Mind, and they are all fascinating. Throughout the book, Sampras is frank about his struggles, disappointments and victories. As has already been pointed out, he doesn’t set out to scandalise or shock, but instead gives honest accounts of the events that shaped his tennis life. Agassi is mentioned on more than one occasion (the index lists more than 100 references), but he never calls out his rival or tries to portray him in a particularly bad light. On the contrary, in some places he relates stories of great sportsmanship – and even friendship – between the two. He even names Agassi in his list of the top ten players of all time. A Champion’s Mind is a wonderful book, and a fine example of what a sports autobiography should be. The only thing one can really complain about is the length: the hardcover edition weighs in at just shy of 300 pages, and while that is certainly generous by the genre’s standards, you’ll be left wanting more by the end of it all. Sadly, while you’ll easily be able to track down Agassi’s book in stores, finding Sampras’ requires a little more effort. It’s freely available in most online bookstores, and is quite cheap there as well. So if you’ve already read his rival’s take on tennis in the 1990s and want a fresh perspective, give A Champion’s Mind a go. You won’t be disappointed.

Lovely a story as that is, he admits that he never even heard

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