SMASH - Winter 2010 by Smash Tennis

MY WORST DAY IN TENNIS 7 PROS TELL THEIR NIGHTMARE TALES

WINTER 2010/11

HOW TO

HIT THE FEDERER TWEENER Ryan Harrison on

10 QUESTIONS WITH SAM STOSUR ON THE RISE COCO VANDEWEGHE ON COURT WITH DREW BREES

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cont ents features 10 THE APPRENTICE How good is Ryan Harrison? By Peter Bodo

16 TRAINING ADVANTAGE Serena Williams’ fitness guru shows you how to get in top shape this winter. By Alyssa Shaffer

20 MY WORST DAY IN TENNIS We’ve all had them. Now let the pros tell you about theirs. By Tom Perrotta

departments 4 GAME ON

Bright lights, big title: Rafael Nadal wins the U.S. Open.

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COVER: BOB CROSLIN/SMASH; THIS PAGE: NICK LAHAM/GETTY IMAGES

24 FINAL CALL

10/18/10 3:57 PM

CATCHING UP WITH LAUREN FISHBEIN

Executive Editor Stephen Tignor Art Director Dennis Huynh

Lauren Fishbein won the 2010 Longines Junior Tennis Challenge in April and went on to represent the U.S. at the Longines Future Tennis Aces Tournament during the 2010 French Open. We caught up with her after that remarkable experience:

Contributing Editors Peter Bodo, Bill Gray, Tom Perrotta Senior Instruction Editor Paul Annacone Touring Editor Brad Gilbert Instruction Editor Rick Macci Gear Advisers David Bone, Bruce Levine, Roman Prokes, Dr. David G. Sharnoff Photo Editor David Rosenberg Production Director Stacey Rigney Prepress Manager Kent Armstrong Partner George Mackin Partner Chris Evert Group Publisher Jeff Williams, jwilliams@tennis.com Publisher Mason Wells, mwells@tennis.com Editorial Consultant Scott Gramling, 10Ten Media

ADVERTISING SALES OFFICES New York Adam Milner (associate publisher), amilner@tennis.com; Buz Keenan (business development), (212) 636-2724, bkeenan@tennis.com; Jodi Neuhauser (senior account manager), (212) 636-2751, jneuhauser@tennis.com; Kate Gillam (sales and marketing coordinator), (212) 636-2741, kgillam@tennis.com; fax: (212) 636-2720; 79 Madison Ave., Eighth Floor, New York, NY 10016 Detroit Mike Peters, mikepeters@fuel-media.net; James McNulty, jamesmcnulty@fuel-media.net; Jill Randall (business manager), jillrandall@fuel-media.net; (248) 649-3835; fax: (248) 649-5638; Fuel Media, 2150 Butterfield Ave., Suite 230, Troy, MI 48084 Los Angeles Jeff Griffith (West Coast sales director), jeff@fuel-360.com; Joe Hustek (account executive), joe@fuel-360.com; (626) 229-9955; fax: (626) 628-1748; Fuel360, 180 S. Lake Ave., Suite 305, Pasadena, CA 91101 Canada Josef Beranek (account executive), (450) 538-2468, jmberanek@sympatico.ca; fax: (450) 538-5468; JMB Media International, 180 Mudgett Road, Sutton, Quebec, J0E 2K0

Q: This would never have happened had you not spent the day working at the school for special-needs kids. What did you learn from that experience? A: Helping other kids is a great way to learn about yourself. I don’t even look at them as kids with special needs. To me, they are smart, fun, loving, caring, and just like us. They just absorb and process information differently. Q: What was the best match you saw at Roland Garros? A: The women’s doubles ﬁnal, with Serena and Venus Williams—it was amazing to watch the way they move around the court, hit the ball with such power, and support each other. To me, this was tennis at its best.

Q: How did you feel about being on the court at Roland Garros representing the United States? A: I felt very proud and also nervous because the courts felt so much different. No matter what happens with my tennis career, playing on the Roland Garros courts will deﬁnitely be the highlight of my life. Longines, the Swiss watchmaker has a strong devotion to watchmaking tradition, elegance, precision, and the sporting world. Longines is committed to charitable causes and has been a supporter of brand ambassadors and tennis legends Stefanie Graf and Andre Agassi and their charities “Children of Tomorrow” and the “Andre Agassi Foundation for Education”.

2010 Statement of Ownership, Management, and Circulation 1. Title of publication: SMASH 2. Publication number: 024-124 3. Filing date: August 24, 2010 4. Issue Frequency: Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter 5. Number of issues published annually: 4 6. Annual subscription price: $9.97 7. Complete mailing address of known office of publication: Miller Sports Group, LLC 79 Madison Ave., 8th Floor, New York, NY 10016-8730 8. Complete mailing address of headquarters or general business office of publisher: 28632 Roadside Dr., Agoura Hills, CA 91301 9. Full names and complete mailing addresses of publisher, editor, and managing editor: Publisher: Jeff Williams, Same as no. 7 Editor: Stephen Tignor, Same as no. 7 Managing Editor: Sarah Unke, Same as no. 7 10. Owner: Miller Sports Group & TDG Investors LLC, 28632 Roadside Dr., Agoura Hills, CA 91301 Owned by: Miller Publishing Group, LLC & TDG MS Investors, LLC 28632 Roadside Dr., Agoura Hills, CA 91301 11. Known bondholders, mortgages, and other security holders owning or holding 1% or more of total amount of bonds, mortgages, or other securities: Miller Mackin Holdings, LLC 28632 Roadside Dr., Agoura Hills, CA 91301 12. Tax status: Has not changed during preceding 12 months. 13. Publication title: SMASH 14. Issue date for circulation data below: Winter 2010 15. Extent and nature of circulation:

Client Services Manager Oren Carton Advertising Records Coordinator Monica Brandon, mbrandon@cmgla.net Circulation Manager Matt Bramble Assistant Circulation Manager Richard Duncan TENNIS.com Online Editor Ed McGrogan Online Producer Tino Persico

MILLER PUBLISHING GROUP LLC President and CEO Robert L. Miller General Manager Andy Nelson Chief Financial Officer Mike Sultan Editorial and National Sales and Marketing Offices: (212) 636-2700; 79 Madison Ave., Eighth Floor, New York, NY 10016 Subscriptions and Change of Address: (800) 666-8336; P.O. Box 2039, Harlan, IA 51537-4039 Customer Care: TENNIS.com/customercare Publications Agreement #40612608 Return undeliverable Canadian addresses to Bleuchip International, P.O. Box 25542, London, ON N6C 6B2

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A. Total Number of Copies B. 1) Mailed Outside-County Paid Subscriptions Stated on PS Form 3541 (2) Mailed In-County Paid Subscriptions Stated on PS Form 3541 (3) Paid Distribution Outside the Mails including Sales Through Dealers and Carriers, Street Vendors, Counter Sales, and Other Paid Distribution Outside USPS (4) Paid Distribution by Other Classes of Mail Through the USPS C. Total Paid Distribution D. (1) Free or Nominal Rate Outside County Copies Included on PS Form 3541 (2) Free or Nominal Rate In-County Copies Included on PS Form 3541 (3) Free or Nominal Rate Copies Mailed at Other Classes Through the USPS (4) Free or Nominal Rate Distribution Outside the Mail E. Total Free or Nominal Rate Distribution F. Total distribution G. Copies not distributed H. Total I. Percentage paid

Average no. each issue during preceding 12 months

No. copies of single issue published nearest to filing date

154,552 150,519 0 914

136,869 135,479 0 0

0 151,434 826 0 0 1,842 2,668 154,102 450 154,552 98.27%

0 135,479 0 0 0 1,390 1,390 136,869 0 136,869 98.98%

I certify that all information furnished on this form is true and complete. I understand that anyone who furnishes false or misleading information on this form or who omits material or information requested on the form may be subject to criminal sanctions (including fines and imprisonment) and/or civil sanctions (including civil penalties). Jeff Williams, Publisher

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g o

inside LEARNING THE FEDERER TWEENER ON COURT WITH DREW BREES PRO RACQUET QUIZ 10 QUESTIONS WITH SAM STOSUR France’s Davis Cup team celebrated their semifinal win.

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COCO A GO The California teen is making inroads on the WTA tour For the 2008 U.S. Open girls’ champion, Coco Vandeweghe, there was never a question of whether sports would play a major role in her life; it was a matter of which sport. Considering her background (her grandfather played basketball for the New York Knicks, and her mother was an Olympian in both swimming and volleyball), Vandeweghe had quite the athletic spectrum—not to mention the necessary DNA—at her fingertips. “Growing up, it was kind of obvious that we’d play sports,” says the 18-year-old from California. “If there was daylight, you were either outside playing or inside doing homework,” Vandeweghe laughs, before adding, “And I didn’t like doing homework.” Considering her pedigree and 6-foot-1 frame, basketball might have been the obvious choice. And it nearly was, until the individual nature of tennis lured her in. “I liked that I didn’t have to worry about teammates,” Vandeweghe says. “Tennis can be whatever you personally put into it.” And she’s put a lot into it so far. Vandeweghe had an outstanding summer in 2010, including g two ITF titles

and an impressive run at the WTA’s Mercury Insurance Open in San Diego. At the latter, she began as a qualifier and slugged her way through to the quarterfinals, stringing together five wins in a row. Her biggest win came after being down a set and a break against Wimbledon and U.S. Open finalist Vera Zvonareva in the second round. It’s perhaps here where Vandeweghe’s greatest genetic gift—a tenacious drive and indefatigable spirit— came into play. “I’ve always been a very competitive person,” she says. “You can’t teach someone to develop that fight. You just have it. The best of my game came out in that match and I proved that I can compete with these players.” Vandeweghe plays aggressive, first-strike tennis that takes full advantage of her dominating forehand and difficult-to-read serve, which she can hit up to 120 m.p.h. Although she endured a disappointing first-round loss at the U.S. Open, she came back to make another quarterfinal run at the Toray Pan Pacific Open in Tokyo this fall, ousting three Top 50 players p y in a row—not bad for

Vandeweghe reached the quarters in Tokyo in October.

“I liked that I didn’t have to worry about teammates,” say Vandeweghe of her reason for choosing tennis. a teen entering the tournament as the world No. 172. At the moment, Vandeweghe’s path in tennis seems bright. But she claims that, long before these promising developments, her mother knew tennis was the right choice, despite the obvious familial options. p

28. 8.0 .0 08 08

BY THE NUMBERS

MARDY FISH AGE 29 • HEIGHT 6-FOOT-2 • WEIGHTT 180 LBS

LEFT: CHRISTOPHE SAIDI/AFP PHOTO; RIGHT: GETTY IMAGES (2)

“I think maybe my mom thought it was better, somehow,” Vandeweghe says. “I think she secretly wanted me to pick tennis. She’s actually told me, ‘Thank God you play tennis instead of basketball.’” With Vandeweghe’s recent results, it’s likely many would agree.—LINDSAY SAKRAIDA

DDATE ATE OF O F HHIS I S MARRIAGE TO STACEY GARDNER 1 17

108

CAREER-HIGH CAREER CAR EER-HI EER HIGH HI GH RAN RANKIN RANKING KINGG (3/2 KIN ((3/22/2004) 3/22/ 3/2 2/

RANKING AS OF 1/03/10

RANKING AS OF 10/11/10

POUNDS DROPPED ED IN 2010

80%

SEASON RECORD AS OF 10/11/2010

PERCENTAGE OF FIRST-SERVEE POINTS WON, THE BEST ON TOUR

NUMBER OF CAREER TITLES (TWO OF THEM IN 2010) NUMB

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TAKE OUR PRO GEAR QUIZ G o

Think you know all about the racquets and strings of the stars? Put yourself to the test here 1. What are the two most popular racquet brands among the pros? a. Babolat and Prince b. Head and Wilson c. Dunlop and Yonex 2. What’s the most popular string type? a. Gut b. Polyester or co-polyester c. Multifilament

Federer demonstrating the tweener at the Open.

3. Which string is most popular? a. Babolat b. Gamma c. Luxilon 4. The pros’ average string tension is: a. a. 40 lbs. b. b. 56 lbs. c. c. 65 lbs.

Learn this shot from a stationary position. “It’s better for your health,” says coach Rick Macci.

on this shot, you’re going to hit the ball into the ground. Your swing should be sharp with lots of wrist snap. And don’t forget to follow through—though not too far. This is the trickiest part of the shot. If you hit the ball with enough force and snap to clear the net, you’ll naturally follow through. But if you follow through too far, you’ll injure yourself. Macci suggests learning this shot from a stationary position. “It’s better for your health,” he says. Stand at the service line and turn your back to the net. Gently drop the ball between your legs and then flick it over the net just as the ball nears the ground for a second bounce. Practice this until you can easily hit the ball over the net with a gentle snapping motion. Once you master the timing of your wrist snap, move farther from the net and accelerate your swing. There’s another thing Macci would like you to know about this shot. Although people remember it, it’s not that common and rarely useful. Federer has hit two between-the-legs shots in the last two years, both at the U.S. Open. That’s a lot of tennis for two highlights. You shouldn’t attempt it more often than the master himself.—TOM PERROTTA

7. On average, how many racquet do the pros bring on court? a. 2 b. 3 c. 4 8. Biggest reason(s) to string tighter on match day a. The particular surface b. The weather conditions c. Both 9. Average beam width (in millimeters) a. 17-19 b. 20-22 c. 32-34 10. Most frequent balance a. Head light b. Even c. Head heavy

THIS PAGE: STAN HONDA/AFP/GETTY IMAGES; OPPOSITE PAGE: BREES: CHRIS GRAYTHEN/GETTY IMAGES; JUNIORS; DAVID KENAS

So you want to be a showoff and hit betweenthe-legs winners like Roger Federer. Rick Macci, the instructor who taught Andy Roddick and the Williams sisters, has some advice for you. “This is a low percentage shot,” he says. “Just scamper by the ball and play a lob, that’s the best way.” Macci knows that his practical view won’t prevail with most juniors, so he often relents and explains how to hit the tweener, as long as his students promise to do it as little as possible. First, start out with a continental grip, as you would on a serve. Wrist flexibility is key to a successful tweener, and the continental grip allows you to snap the racquet head, just like a serve. Run to the ball and then step over it, so it’s either under your legs or slightly behind you. Your racquet should be up around your chest and your grip must be loose; if you’re tense

6. What’s the most frequent reason the pros change racquets mid-match? a. Broken strings b. Loss of tension c. Cracked frame

ANSWERS: 1a. 13 players each, followed by Head (12), Wilson (11), Yonex (7) and Dunlop (5); 2b. All string with polyester as a complete set or mixed with gut, with the exceptions of all-gut users Kim Clijsters and Venus Williams (along with U.S. Open no-shows Serena Williams and Justine Henin). 3c; 4b; 5a (Na Li); 6b. Poly is ultra durable, but it loses tension quickest; 7c; 8b. Heat and humidity reduce string tension, pros don’t alter tensions for grass, clay and hard court; 9b; 10a. Almost all pro racquets are head light.

HOW TO HIT THE FEDERER SPECIAL

5. The highest string tension on tour is: a. 68 lbs. b. 76 lbs. c. 82 lbs.

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KING OF THE PASSING SHOT Super Bowl-winning quarterback Drew Brees learned his foot work on a tennis court There’s a reason Drew Brees is one of the most difficult quarterbacks to sack in the NFL: Tennis. Years of pounding the hard courts as a standout junior tennis player helped him hone his fancy footwork on the football field. Brees entered the 2010 season having been sacked only 75 times in 68 games as the Saints quarterback. He’s blessed with remarkable agility, quick feet, uncanny peripheral vision and terrific hand-eye coordination, all traits he attributes to his years as a tennis player and multisport athlete in Austin, Texas. “You can see those years of tennis in Drew,” said former NFL coach Brian Billick, an avid recreational tennis player with his wife, Kim. “He’s got great feet and balance. He’s never out of position to make a throw.” Brees’ mother, Mina, intro-

duced him to the sport at a young age. At 12, he was the top-ranked player in his age group in Texas. He defeated Andy Roddick three times. Roddick was three years younger than Brees and the two ranked among the top players in the city. Roddick, a Nebraska native who lived in Austin from the ages of 4 to 10, finally got the best of Brees in a junior tournament after Brees had turned 13. Brees said he gravitated to other sports in junior high. “Baseball was really the sport I thought I had the best opportunity of playing at the next level,” said Brees, who wears No. 9 in honor of his favorite athlete, baseball great Ted Williams. “I wanted to be a three-sport athlete in college: baseball; basketball and football.” Brees said the mechanics of a good tennis serve are similar to the motor skills used to pass a football or hit a baseball.

“If you were to match those things up you would find that they’re all very similar, as far as your ability to generate power,” Brees said. “How that power starts with your feet, up through your hips and transfers to your shoulder and into your fingertips.” Brees’ flawless footwork contributes to his unparalleled accuracy. He broke Ken Anderson’s 27-year-old NFL record for completion percentage by connecting on 70.6 percent of his passes last season. Brees still plays tennis, but only a couple of times a year. When he does have free time from his responsibilities as a father, husband and professional athlete, he more often than not plays golf than tennis, but he still enjoys watching the sport. Does he ever wonder how good he could have been had he stuck with tennis? “I think I could have been pretty damn good,” Brees says with a smile.—JEFF DUNCAN

ELITE JUNIORS ARE JUST LIKE US (EXCEPT THEY’RE RARELY AT HOME)

JACK SOCK, 17

DARIA GAVRILOVA, 16

DENIS KUDLA, 18

MONICA PUIG, 17

MARTON FUCSOVICS, 18

Kansas City, Kansas

Russia

Arlington, Va. (born in Ukraine)

Miami, Fla. (born in Puerto Rico)

Hungary

2010 U.S. Open Junior Singles result Champion

2010 U.S. Open Junior Singles result Finalist

2010 U.S. Open Junior Singles result Quarterfinalist

2010 U.S. Open Junior singles result Semifinalist

iPod faves The Fray, Incubus, Mayday Parade, Framing Hanley

iPod faves R&B, Rihanna’s “Only Girl”

iPod faves Kid Cudi, Alter Bridge, country music

iPod faves Rap, pop, R&B; favorite is “Magic” by B.O.B.

iPod faves R&B, “Ridin’ Solo” by Jason Derulo

Last book Breaking Back, James Blake

Last book The Twilight Series, Stephenie Meyer

Last book A Fighter’s Mind, Sam Sheridan

Last book The Alchemist, Paulo Coelho

Last book “Probably three years ago, in school.”

Ultimate autograph Andy Roddick

Ultimate autograph Kim Clijsters

Ultimate autograph Roger Federer

Ultimate autograph Rafael Nadal

Ultimate autograph Roger Federer

Time spent at home in a year 4-5 months.

Time spent at home in a year 8-10 weeks

Time spent at home in a year 4-6 weeks

Superstition Ate at Chipotle for 14 straight nights during the U.S. Open.

Superstition Wears lucky blue and tan string bracelet. “Got it just before [Youth] Olympics [in mid-August], won with it and haven’t lost a match since.”

Superstition None. “I stopped.”

Superstition “Listening to a song before every match until I lose.”

Superstition “Always bounce the ball eight times before the first serve, four before the second.”

Greatest fear Snakes

Greatest fear Spiders. “Can’t take them. I freak out.”

Greatest fear Horror movies

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Is it tough when you’re dishing out a double bagel? No, it’s a good feeling. But it’s hard to win love and love. If you can do that, you’re playing fantastic. I don’t care who you’re playing. If you can not drop a game, something’s really going right for you.

G o

Are there any sports that you’re bad at? I’m not good at basketball. I didn’t like netball. Anything to do with my feet, I wasn’t too good at. So not soccer.

QUESTIONS WITH

SAMANTHA STOSUR Sam Stosur is having the time of her life on the singles scene. The two-time doubles and mixed-doubles Grand Slam champ made the French Open final singles in June and reached a career-high No. 5. Along the way, the 26-year-old Aussie sat down with Smash

Is it harder to play people you really like? Maybe back in junior days. Now we’re all professionals. It’s easy to block that out. Win or lose I can walk off the court and be fine with the person.

What’s your goal now? I’d like to get even higher [in the rankings] and I would really love to win another singles title. I would also love to try and get myself into another Grand Slam final and have another go at that.

What’s been the proudest moment in your career? Anytime you win a title—singles, doubles, mixed—is a great moment. And then probably the one singles win would be either against Justine [Henin] or Serena [Williams] at the French Open.

When did you start wearing your sunglasses? About 14. I don’t really know why I wanted to, but I begged my mum and dad to buy me a pair. And it just kind of stuck with me ever since. Now I can’t play without them.

Were you good at tennis right away? After my first lesson, the coach went over to all the parents and asked, “Who owns that girl?” Mum thought, “What has she done wrong?” They said I had some ability and that I should look at private lessons. Mum and Dad had never played tennis and they didn’t know what to think. From there I just went on and wanted to play tennis. What are some of the earliest matches you remember? I played in the 14-and-under nationals when I was 11. In the lead-in event, I lost love and love to Leanne Baker, who I don’t think really plays anymore. And in the main-draw event, I lost love and love to Alicia Molik. But I got my photo in the newspaper. They got it wrong—[my caption] said “Alicia Molik.”

Do you watch yourself on TV? It’s weird, but it’s interesting. You can pick up a lot of things about yourself or the opponent. As an example, did you have good body language? If you can see it on TV, then your opponent’s seeing it, the crowd’s seeing it. When you’re that figure on the court, you don’t see yourself.—Bobby Chintapalli

JULIAN FINNEY/GETTY IMAGES

What’s been the worst match in your career? In Miami years ago I lost to Amelie Mauresmo love and love on Center Court in about 45 minutes. Nothing worked. My coach and I left straight away and went to the practice courts, and I ended up hitting for two-and-a-half hours. I felt so much better, that I could actually still play tennis half decently.

08 SMASH WINTER 2010/11

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Are you ready to take your game to the next level? You need Pat Etcheberry.

Pat “Etch” Etcheberry with one of his elite student athletes HENIN

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— RICHARD VERZAAL QUERBES TENNIS CENTER, SHREVEPORT, LA

Are you an elite athlete looking for every competitive advantage? Or a developing player ready to get serious? Whatever your goals and dreams, legendary trainer Pat Etcheberry can help you make them happen. Pat Etcheberry is the most successful sports trainer in the world. “Etch” to all his players, his name is synonymous with success in the sport of tennis. Pat has trained nearly two dozen Champions who have raised the Victor’s trophy at more than 90 Grand Slam tournaments and countless Masters contests. A former Olympian himself, Pat has also trained 15 Olympic Medalists, as well as hundreds of elite and developing student athletes—some as young as eight years old. Now Pat wants to help you learn the same secrets and advice he has shared with championship players like Sampras, Agassi, Courier, Seles, Capriati, Sanchez Vicario, Bruguera, Majoli, Sabatini, Henin, Hingis, Jankovic and a host of other A-list tennis pros—the Etcheberry Experience.

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10/7/10 12:12 PM

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T H E

P P R E N T I C E

Ryan Harrison is only 18, but he knows that careers arenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t built in one match, even when it happens at the U.S. Open. BY PETER BODO | PHOTOGRAPHS BY BOB CROSLIN

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Ryan

H A R R I S O N

knows precisely which shot he would reel back in and do over if he had the opportunity to replay his epic second-round match with Sergiy Stakhovsky at the 2010 U.S. Open. It was a match-point opportunity deep in the ﬁfth-set tiebreaker, after Harrison had watched his commanding 6-3 lead melt back to 6-5. By that point in the match, everyone on the Grandstand at the National Tennis Center (and legions hanging over the railing of adjacent Louis Armstrong Stadium, high above), or watching on television, or on a computer at work, was riveted. Harrison missed his first serve, but cranked a confident, heavily spun second ball into Stakhovsky’s backhand. Stakhovsky blocked it back with a slice, by which time Harrison had shifted to his left, to set up for an inside-out forehand. A few shots into the ensuing rally, Harrison, with too much time to think, swatted a routine backhand into the net. Given a reprieve, Stakhovsky won the next two points to end the match. “I wish I would have come in on that 6-5 serve,” Harrison says, recalling his last best opportunity to close out the match and strike a resounding blow for his career. “I’d been attacking quite a bit, it was part of the game plan. I’ve always trusted my second serve. It’s one of my weapons. But I guess I just let the moment get away from me. I wasn’t aggressive enough.” You could hardly blame Harrison for backing off at the crucial moment. He’s just an 18-year-old kid, embroiled in one of those matches that supports the claim that when it comes to sheer, enervating drama, it doesn’t get any better than a fifth-set tiebreaker at the U.S. Open. And while the match was only a second-rounder, Harrison, who arrived in New York ranked just No. 220 in the world, had battled through three tough rounds of qualifying, and then embarked on his main draw

adventure with an upset of No. 15 veteran, Ivan Ljubicic. Once the pain of allowing that match to slip away diminished, Harrison could appreciate his potentially transformational moment. “Well, you always believe in yourself,” he says. ”I always believed I could play with those [main tour] guys. But to actually go out there and turn in a performance like that, on one of the biggest stages in the world, that was a great experience. I took a lot from it, and I look forward to getting back to that point as soon as I can.” It will be some time before Harrison gets to strut his Grand Slam stuff at a major again (the Australian Open of 2011, to be precise, should he qualify); right now, he’s returned to the considerably less glamorous work of improving on his post-U.S. Open career-high ranking of 170 by laboring in the trenches of the Challenger circuit. That may seem like quite a come down for a young player who’s well-positioned to satisfy the growing hunger for the next great American star, but the hard way may be the best way. That, at any rate, is the opinion of Nick Bollettieri, at whose eponymous tennis academy Harrison has trained since he was 16 years old. “With guys like Roger (Federer), Rafa (Nadal), (Novak) Djokovic and (Andy)Murray around, I don’t really see anybody breaking through that quickly at age 18,” says Bollettieri, “And that’s probably not a good idea anyway, as much as we want to see another American talent contending for titles. Ryan’s far better off trying to build up mentally, physically, and emotionally

before he faces all that pressure. Today, it may even be a negative to break through too early.” Still, Harrison seems an ideal candidate for early breakthrough success. His junior career ended abruptly at age 16, after he competed in the junior division at only five Grand Slam events, with no notable success. He turned pro in 2008, and the wisdom of the decision was almost immediately apparent. Harrison became the third-youngest player since 1990 (after Richard Gasquet and Rafa Nadal) to win a main-tour ATP match when he took the measure of Pablo Cuevas, then ranked No. 130, at the 2008 U.S. Men’s Clay Court Championships. But what the statistics and won-lost records won’t tell you is that Harrison had a more subtle reason for turning pro so early—his uncommon maturity. He’s an almost eerily poised, articulate, thoughtful kid. Speaking with him, an interlocutor could easily mistake him for a 25-year old veteran who’s had the benefit of a four-year college education. This general awareness is a quality that justified his decision to turn pro so early, with so thin a junior record, and it’s helped him navigate the challenges that lay in store. It also shines through in every aspect of his smooth, multifaceted game. Harrison is a native of Shreveport, La., the son of Pat Harrison, a former Challenger level player and itinerant tennis coach. Pat’s wife, Susie, was a schoolteacher who eventually left her job to homeschool their children—Ryan

(the oldest), Christian, who’s two years younger, and the baby in the family, a tennis-playing girl, Madison. When Ryan’s talent became obvious (he reached the final of the Shreveport city championships at age 11, but lost the title to . . . his dad), Pat Harrison moved the family from Shreveport to New Braunfels, Texas, where Pat was a director at John Newcombe’s Tennis Ranch and Academy. After a few years there, Pat struck up a relationship with Nick Bollettieri and migrated to a home just 10 minutes from the Nick Bollettieri Tennis Academy in Florida. While his own children have been Pat’s main focus, he also became a Bollettieri pro, working with a variety of players, including WTA pro Michaella Krajicek. Pat Harrison’s biggest problem these days appears to be the bumper crop of

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Harrison’s athleticism is one of his major strengths.

talent he sired. While Ryan is the star of the family, it may be only because he had a head start, age-wise. Christian at one time was the highest-ranked 14-year-old on the junior circuit, and Madison also hopes to play competitively at the collegiate level, or better. Of Christian, Ryan says: “He hits the ball as well as anyone I’ve ever seen at his age. He hits it even cleaner than I did at his age, and he can handle anyone’s ball.” The Harrisons are a close family; Pat says that until recently, Ryan never failed to return from a tournament without some sort of gift for Madison. And Ryan and Christian are in constant contact, whether by cellphone, text or instant messaging. They roomed together during the U.S. Open (while the rest of the Harrison brood stayed at the

Manhattan apartment of a family friend), where Ryan practiced mostly with Christian, and also warmed up for all of his matches with his younger brother. Two traumatic events probably played subtle roles in shaping Ryan Harrison’s surprisingly adult demeanor. He suffered a stress fracture in his back in the fall of 2008, and was forced to spend 23 hours a day in a brace stretching from his hips to his chest until the spring of 2009. And not long after he was able to resume practice, the Harrison family received an even more profound shock. Christian, suffering pain in his left leg, was examined by a local specialist who declared that the ominous, dark spot on his femur was likely bone cancer. “It was scary, very scary,” Ryan says. “I was just 17, but as Christian’s condi-

tion developed, I knew everything that was going on. My parents kept me fully informed, even though we kept the information from Christian. We had to keep it a bit of a secret, because we didn’t want Christian freaking out as much as we were.” Hoping that the diagnosis was wrong, Bollettieri helped arrange for Christian to visit the famed Mayo clinic, where physicians determined that instead of bone cancer, Christian had a condition called Brodie’s Abscess, an infection in his bone. On the day after the Harrison clan watched Ryan lose a heartbreaking, 7-5 in-the-third match to Marsel Ilhan, in the first round of qualifying for the U.S. Open of 2009, Christian flew to the Mayo Clinic. Doctors subsequently drilled a hole in his femur near his hip

and cleaned up the infection, a remedy more palatable than the old-fashioned cure of . . . amputation. Christian is back in perfect health and prepared to resume his budding career. “A kid grows up with his dad telling him to live each day like it really counts,” Pat Harrison says. “You know, you tell them that it can all be taken away, don’t ever take anything for granted, work hard for what you want, because you never know. But that doesn’t always sink into a young mind. Christian’s struggle really brought it home to Ryan. It made him more mature, more grown up. He knows firsthand now how true all those things are, and it has an effect on how hard he works and how he thinks.” Beyond that, Ryan’s personality has been shaped by the habits of the large

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and gregarious extended Harrison family. As Pat says: “We’re the kind of people who give each other a lot of grief, but in a nice way. So the kids are used to give and take, used to talking. And I always tell them to treat everyone the same way. Just be yourself. Relax. Chat with people. Tell them what you think and no matter what, tell the truth. There’s no real reason to stiffen up or get nervous about what people want or expect of you.” Ryan Harrison was presented with another feather for his cap a week after the end of the U.S. Open, when Davis Cup captain Patrick McEnroe named him to the four-man squad that would go to play a critical tie against Colombia—with demotion from the elite World Group at stake. In one practice session during the tie, Sam Querrey had a sitter forehand, and he couldn’t resist drilling Harrison in the mid-section with the ball. It was a stinging blow and, it seemed, the kind of message a mature big dog might send by nipping the nose of a puppy that’s become a little too feisty. Harrison hit the deck but popped right to his feet and confronted Querrey. He said, in effect, What do you think you’re doing? I’m not just a practice partner now. I’m one of the team. McEnroe, a bemused onlooker as this scene played out, thought it a revealing incident: “When that happened, Jay

(Berger, the Davis Cup team coach) and I looked at each other and said, at the same time, ‘Yep, this kid’s a player.’ Ryan sees himself as belonging right up there with the rest of the guys, as being a player. And that’s half the battle right there.” Still, with the tie knotted at 1-1, McEnroe decided against throwing the rookie Harrison into the fray, and chose to insert Mardy Fish as John Isner’s doubles partner, despite the fact that Fish had played a five-set singles match the day before, and would have to play the critical fourth match the following day. “Captain pulled me at the last second,” Harrison says, “But it was understandable because it was a huge match and Mardy is a proven player. He’s earned that trust and respect Pat [McEnroe] has for him. But I also believe that if I were in there, I could have gotten the job done.” Like they said, he’s a player. Just what kind of player he is, technically and stylistically, is a complicated question. Harrison’s command of the full repertoire of strokes, his willingness to employ whichever combination works best, and his nature as a precocious student of the game makes it hard to fit him in a cubbyhole. “He has no huge weapon,” says Pat Harrison. “But at the same time he has no weakness, either.” McEnroe sees vestiges of the “old school” style in Harrison, based partly on Harrison’s liberal use of the sliced

“He’s got Top 10 potential for sure,” former U.S. Davis Cup captain Patrick McEnroe says of Harrison. “He’s got the head for the game, and he’s got the firepower.” Harrison put his name on the tennis map at the Open.

RYAN HARRISON PHOTGRAPHED ON 9/29/10 AT NICK BOLLETTIERI TENNIS ACADEMY. INSET: TIMOTHY A. CLARY/AFP/GETTY IMAGES

Center of attention: Harrison with (left to right) his coach, Martin Damm, mother Susie, father Pat, brother Christian, and sister Madison.

backhand, and his willingness to attack and volley when presented the option. “He’s got Top 10 potential for sure,” says McEnroe. “He’s got a head for the game and he’s got the firepower. He’s already this close to having a world-class serve, because he has a great shoulder turn and back bend. It isn’t exactly a huge bomb of a serve, but it’s smooth and very effective. And his second serve already is unbelievable. He really goes after it.” A few weeks after the Open, the Harrisons engaged newly retired tour veteran Martin Damm, an excellent doubles player (as is Harrison), as Ryan’s personal coach. Damm is from the Czech Republic, but he’s lived and trained at the Bollettieri Academy for some years now, and over time he formed a friendship with Pat Harrison. “With Martin traveling with Ryan, I’ll get to do what I’ve wanting,” says Pat. “Which is to take a back seat, be more parent and less coach. Being the dad and coach, and having my other two kids in addition to the work I do at the academy, is demanding. It ends up causing too many conflicts, even in the family, and you always take that stuff off the court with you.” It’s unlikely that Damm, or anyone else, will leave visible fingerprints on Harrison’s game. As Pat says, the main task for Ryan is incrementally improving the assets he already has. “It’s pretty simple. You go from being able to hit four shots in the court to hitting six, and then hitting eight, over and over.” Bollettieri believes that the greatest area of potential improvement for Harrison is learning how to play in a situation where he’s in a position to win. “You have to get through those moments,” Bollettieri says. “How do you play when you get to the big points? At the level the game is played today, you just have to know what to do when you get to those critical crossroads.” Harrison revealed that he was a little green in that department when he had the match on his racket against Stakhovsky at the Open. But being a naturally inclined student of the game is a great asset—almost as great as seeing yourself as being the one thing to which every apprentice aspires, a player.

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10/15/10 7:48 AM

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Training Advantage Mackie Shilstone has helped some of the best athletes in the world shape up for their sports. Now he’s ready to help you perform at your best. BY ALYSSA SHAFFER | ILLUSTRATIONS BY CHRIS PHILPOT

TROUBLE SPOT

KNEES

You don’t get to be the world’s top-ranked tennis player without a little help. In Serena Williams’ case, that help includes Mackie Shilstone, one of the world’s most revered sports trainers and the executive director of the Fitness Principle at East Jefferson General Hospital in Metairie, Louisiana. Shilstone, who has helped more than 3,000 pro athletes dominate their sports— from world-champion boxers to NFL and NBA superstars —has worked with Williams for the past two years, including her latest return to form after she sliced her foot on some glass after winning Wimbledon last summer. In Shilstone’s opinion, the best players are the ones who are best prepared. “To succeed in tennis you need a mix of speed, agility, power and interval training,” says Shilstone. “When you bring all of these together, you’ll have a winning game.” Shilstone says there’s a lot you can do to keep yourself playing in peak form. His proven training tips are designed to reduce injury and maximize performance, whether you’re winning Grand Slams or dominating your next club match.

GET DYNAMIC TIP

Before beginning any activity, whether you’re working out or hitting the court, make sure you’re adequately prepared. “It all starts with the warm-up,” says Shilstone, who says dynamic flexibility drills are crucial to getting you ready to move. Unlike static stretches (the reach-and-hold kind where you stretch for 20-30 seconds for each major muscle group), dynamic stretches take your muscles and joints through their full range of motion. Warm up first with some light jogging or walking, then walk forward for 15-20 yards for each of these exercises:

• High knees: Walk forward, lifting knees toward belly button with each step. Try to stand as straight as possible.

• Knee raises: Stand with hands in front of body. Lift knee as high as possible toward outside of shoulder on the same side.

• High cross kicks: Stand with hands outstretched to sides; walk forward bringing ankles as close to opposite hands as possible.

• Clapping hand kick: Walk forward, lifting legs as high as possible and clapping hands under knee.

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Step up: Stand closely behind a low step, right foot on top of step, knee bent about 45 degrees and left foot on floor. Push into right foot while touching left forefoot onto step, return left foot to floor but only touch it lightly with toes; most of your body weight should remain on your right (working) leg throughout the set. Work up to 1015 reps with good form; switch legs and repeat. During the movement, the knee of your working leg should not go past toes; think about driving your head straight toward ceiling.

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TROUBLE SPOT

LOWER BACK/CORE

TIP

2 RUN IT OUT To help Serena get her wind back, Shilstone has her doing suicide drills (short sprints) on grass. “Ninety-five percent of points in a game take between four and 12 seconds, so you have to be able to recover quickly,” he says. “Training on grass will help make you quicker when you have to run on the hard stuff.” On-court running drills are not only great for conditioning (many are based on short sprints that take no more than 30 seconds), they’ll also help with agility, so you can get to the ball faster and be ready to go. Practice these drills twice a week. In addition, do some interval cross-training on grass twice a week.

Bird dog (not shown): Begin on all fours, hands on floor under shoulders and knees under hips. Tighten abdominals and extend left hand forward while lifting right leg behind you. Hold for two seconds, then slowly return to starting position and repeat on opposite sides, s, bringing right hand forward ward and left leg back. Work rk up to 10 reps per side, e, keeping abdominals tightt throughout the move.

Small box drill: Begin on the center of the baseline. Sprint diagonally to the left service line singles corner, then shuffle right to the center of the service line, facing the net. Pivot left and sprint to the left singles baseline corner. Shuffle back to right to center of baseline. Repeat, this time sprinting diagonally to right service line corner. Always face net. Big box drill: Do the same drill as above but this time start on the right singles corner of the baseline and run all the way diagonally to the left corner of the singles service line. Shuffle right to the right corner of the singles service line, then turn and sprint back to left singles corner of baseline. Shuffle back to start and repeat. Star Drill: Stand on the center of the service line. Face the net throughout these drills. Sprint forward to the net then shuffle back to start. Sprint right diagonally across to net; shuffle back to start. Repeat, sprinting left diagonally across to net and back. Sprint to right side of service line box and back to start, then to left. Shuffle back to center of baseline, then back to start. Sprint back to right singles corner of baseline and back to start, then to left.

GET JUMPING TIP

To be able to return a winning point, you need a fast first step. And if you want to run faster, says Shilstone, you have to be able to jump higher. That’s where jumping rope comes in. But unlike your playground days, he adds, your rope workouts should focus on jumping light,

quick, and on your forefeet. Start by practicing in front of a mirror without a rope: Do very small, quick jumps 25 times, keeping your weight on your forefeet. Take a break and do it again n until you get to a total of 100 jumps. “This movementt will help give your legs and calves more explosive strength so you can jump to o

TROUBLE SPOT

the ball even faster,” he says. Once you get the hang of it, start doing drills like high knees and forward sprints with the rope. A beaded jump rope (rather than a rope one) can give you better feedback.

PREVIOUS SPREAD: MATTHEW STOCKMAN/GETTY IMAGES; RIGHT: SERENA: ALAISTAIR GRANT-POOL/GETTY IMAGES, COURTESY C MACKIE SHILSTONE

Side bridge roll: Lie on right side, elbow on floor under shoulder, legs stacked with knees bent and feet behind you. Tighten abs and lift hips, bringing left hand to right shoulder. Hold here for 10-15 seconds, then roll forward until both elbows are on floor. Hold here for 10-15 seconds, then roll again to right, this time keeping left elbow and forearm on floor. Return to center and repeat. Work up to doing series three times, taking a one-minute break between each.

SHOULDERS ERS

Skiier: Anchor center of band at shoulder height. Step back with arms above thighs, palms facing down, knees slightly bent. Keeping abs tight, ght, alternate moving hands down and up quickly, as if pushing off the snow while cross-country oss-country skiing. Work up to 20 reps with good form.

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TIP

Y U B E! M

RESISTANCE TUBES You can reduce your risk of injury to key areas and boost your training with the prehab drills from Shilstone shown here; they’re a regular part of Serena’s training program. You’ll need a set of resistance tubes with a handle (find one for about $10 at Kmart or Sears or a set of them online at bodylastics.com, as shown) and a partner to hold the middle or a place to anchor it. Do them twice a week, before or after a practice session.

TROUBLE SPOT

SHOULDERING THE LOAD With so much emphasis on the serve as well as on generating more and more racquet speed with all of your shots, tennis players’ shoulders are under more stress than ever. Here’s an exercise to help you strengthen them. Archer: Stand in an archer’s position, with your left foot forward and your right foot pointing slightly out. Bring your arms forward to shoulder height while holding the handles of an exercise band at chest height in the center, with your hands facing each other. Keeping your left hand forward, pull your right elbow back below the level of your right shoulder (as if you’re drawing an arrow from a bow). Return to the starting position and repeat. Work up to 20 reps; switch sides and repeat.

TIP

5 PRACTICE PREHAB All of your hard work learning how to be a better player won’t make a difference if yyour season is spent sidelined with an injury. That’s why along with strength and conditionin conditioning, Shilstone also strongly recommends pra practicing “prehab” (or preventive rehabilitation rehabilitation) as part of any conditioning program—especially program—espec among juniors. The average elite adolescent adoles player hits for an average of 2.3 hours a day, more than 6 days a week, making 8.7 changes c of direction on the average point. All that pivoting around can take its toll: Over the course of a year, a junior player will suffer an avera average of three injuries. The key trouble tro spots: shoulders, knees and lower back. training But some basic traini routines can help protect protec these areas and keep you from getting ge injured. All you really need is a with rotatresistance tube (the kind wit ing handles work best) and an area to practice. “In just about an hour and a a half a week you can get your body ready read for the demands of the game,” Shilstone says. sa ALYSSA SHAFFER R IS A FREQUENT CONTRIBUTOR CONTRIB BUTOR OF FITNESS ARTICLES TO TENNIS MAGAZINE

Williams with hitting partner Sasha Bajin (left) and Shilstone.

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KNEES

Walking lunge: Stand with feet together, arms at sides (you can also hold your racquet with hands together at center). Step forward with right leg, bending knees about 45 degrees; keep right knee over ankle and shoulders above hips. Step forward with left leg and repeat, keeping left knee over left ankle. Walk for about 10 yards with good form, then go immediately into reverse lunge. Deceleration lunge (not shown): Stand facing a couple of feet away from low step that’s behind you. Place top of left foot on step, toe tucked under, arms at sides with elbows bent and right foot forward, leaning forward slightly. Bend right knee about 45 degrees, making sure knee does not move past ankle; contract abs so you don’t overarch back. Straighten and repeat. Work up to 10-15 reps per side with good form. Reverse lunge (not shown): Stand with feet together, arms at sides or holding racquet. Step left foot behind you, bending knees 45 degrees; don’t let left foot go past ankle. Step left foot back to start and repeat. Work up to 10-15 reps per side with good form, alternating legs.

10/15/10 1:55 PM

Get me out of here CHRIS EVERT

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Chris Evert owned Virginia Wade. She lost to her just six times in 46 matches, but the 1977 Wimbledon semifinal was the worst of the six. Evert was No. 1 in the world and the defending champion, and she didn’t lose a set in her first five matches, which included a 6-1, 6-2 drubbing of

Billie Jean King in the quarterfinals. Evert and Wade split the first two sets, but Wade, who was trying to become the first British champion at Wimbledon in eight years, jumped out to an early lead in the third. “The crowd was just going crazy for her,” Evert says. By the end, when Wade reached

match point, Evert couldn’t stand it anymore. “I hit a ball [near the line] that I think the linesman saw in,” she says. “I wanted to get off the court, so I ran up to the net and shook hands and just got out of there.” Wade, who won that match 6-2, 4-6, 6-1, defeated Betty Stove in the final for her only Wimbledon title.

10/15/10 4:22 PM

Every tennis player, from summertime hack to superstar champion, has had one of those days on court—one of those days that makes you want to take a chainsaw to your racquets. Here are a few of the very worst days in tennis, as experienced by the pros. | BY TOM PERROTTA

trapped under the bubble TRACY AUSTIN

Tracy Austin won her first pro tournament in January 1977, but she still had some unfinished business in the juniors: the 18-and-under Easter Bowl. Austin had won the 14-year-old division the year before (as a 13-yearold) and was favored—Austin was always favored—to win the 18s in 1977. She probably would have, if not for the convergence of two unforeseen obstacles in the quarterfinals: her opponent Caroline Stoll’s heavy topspin,

and the bubble-covered, red clay courts under the 59th Street Bridge in Manhattan, where the tournament was played. “Caroline was the first person I remember with an extreme grip,” Austin says. There wasn’t a lot of room behind the baseline, and Stoll, who was two years older than Austin, took advantage of it. Austin, who guesses she must have been 4-foot-8 at the time, watched in disbelief as Stoll’s

forehands bounced over her head and into the curve of the bubble. Austin was using a wood racquet, and hitting on the rise was not her forte. She tried to short-hop Stoll’s shots, to no avail. “I was like, ‘This is just not fair,’” Austin says. “It wasn’t even tennis.” Stoll prevailed 6-3, 4-6, 6-4 and later won the tournament, but Austin got her revenge a year later when she drubbed Stoll in a WTA event in Bergen County, N.J.

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rage against the chair DMITRY TURSUNOV

for the birds BRAD GILBERT

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Wimbledon 1985 was the first tournament where Brad Gilbert used a midsize graphite racquet, and he was feeling lucky. “Everybody was telling me, ‘Yannick Noah can’t play on grass,’” Gilbert recalls of his first-round opponent. “We ended up having this epic on the first day, and we finished at like 9:45, in the dark, literally in the dark,” Gilbert says. In the fifth set,

Gilbert was serving at 3-4 when a bird landed on court and wouldn’t fly away. Noah tried to scare it off with a dance. The crowd loved it. Gilbert didn’t. He lost his concentration and his serve, and Noah closed it out, 6-4, 3-6, 7-6 (6), 6-7 (5), 6-3. “I just grabbed my bag and started walking,” Gilbert says. “I didn’t even cut the tape off my ankles. It took me

over two hours to walk back from Wimbledon to my hotel in London.” Along the way, Gilbert pitched several of his new frames in the Thames. “One dude was looking at me on the bridge,” Gilbert says, “he thought I was a certified lunatic.” He remembers sleeping well, though, and asking himself about his long walk the next morning, What did I do that for?

EVERT AND GILBERT: MICHAEL COLE; ALL OTHERS GETTY IMAGES

After four hours, one thing was clear: This was going to be a bad day for someone. Dmitry Tursunov was playing Jarkko Nieminen for a spot in the 2006 Wimbledon quarterfinals. Nieminen won the first two sets. Tursunov won the third and the fourth, saving a match point. Nieminen vented his frustrations by tossing a racquet over the fence; Tursunov bickered with chair umpire Fergus Murphy over line calls. It was 7-7 in the fifth set when Tursunov lost his serve, and his cool. He smacked a ball and hit the bottom of the umpire’s chair. Murphy penalized Tursunov a point and Nieminen closed out the match, 7-5, 6-4, 6-7 (2), 6-7 (6), 9-7. Tursunov shook his finger at Murphy after the match and later called him an “idiot.” He was fined $7,500. He doesn’t regret it. “I don’t think we really like each other,” Tursunov says. “There were a lot of dodgy calls.” Long after the match ended, Tursunov stayed on court, alone, so he could kick the umpire’s chair. It hurt, too. “I was wearing flip flops,” he says.

10/15/10 5:06 PM

tripped up VIRGINIA WADE

“they would’ve killed me”

As we’ve read, Virginia Wade rarely beat Chris Evert—six times in 46 matches, to be exact. Many of those losses were pain-free blowouts, but this one, played at the 1980 Wightman Cup, hurt. The Wightman Cup was a team competition between the United States and Great Britain that ran from 1923 to 1989. Wade had been playing well leading up to the match, and she loved the fast carpet surface inside Royal Albert Hall. After losing the first set, she won the second and took a 5-1 lead in the third. Wade held two match points at 40-15 on her serve. At 40-30, she served and volleyed, and closed in on a backhand volley, which, she says, “I had been nailing all day.” Then the unbelievable happened, as in, Wade doesn’t blame you if you don’t believe her. “My shoelace came undone, it really did!” she says. “I noticed it and sort of stumbled, and missed the shot and proceeded to lose the match.” Evert won the last six games and 24 of the last 27 points to win 7-5, 3-6, 7-5. Her victory kept her nine-year unbeaten streak in Wightman Cup intact and gave the U.S. a decisive edge. “I always make a joke about the most extreme excuse a person can ever come up with,” Wade says, “because this one is quite a good one.”

JIMMY ARIAS Jimmy Arias’ worst day needs a prelude. Arias relished a hostile crowd, as long as he could fight back. In a 1986 Davis Cup match against Ecuador, Arias endured hours of abuse as he battled Andres Gomez. “Whenever I missed a shot, the whole crowd would go, ‘Awwwww,’” Arias says, as in, awww, too bad you stink, you poor American. “So if I served an ace, I would turn to the crowd and say, ‘Awwww.’” At one stage, he even pointed to a certain region below his waist. The crowd went crazy. One spectator took out a flare gun, and the match was delayed for 15 minutes. Arias expected an even tougher crowd a year later in Paraguay, and he was under orders to keep his mouth shut. “Tom Gorman, the captain, told me, ‘Play the match and do not do anything else. Do not say a word,’” Arias says. “In retrospect, that saved my life, because they were actually nuts. Had I done anything, I swear they would’ve killed me.” Arias lost to Victor Pecci on the opening day and dropped the first two sets against Hugo Chapacu on the final day. But he saved a match point in the third set, won the fourth, and jumped to a seemingly insurmountable 5-1 lead in the fifth. The lead wasn’t big enough. Chapacu started playing better and Arias began to succumb to the hysteria in the stands. The fans banged drums and threw pebbles and bottle caps at him. The linesmen cheated. Serving at 5-2, deuce, Arias hit a winning forehand, but the ball was called out. Gorman protested, but there was no overrule. Arias, who eventually lost 9-7 in the fifth set after 4 hours and 16 minutes, says he doesn’t feel that he choked. “I’ve choked tons of matches, I have no problem admitting that,” he says. “In that one, I never felt like I choked, I just felt like I had been beaten to a pulp.” At least he escaped with his life. On his way out of the stadium, a fan threw a brick that grazed his head. Arias ran. “And then Aaron Krickstein had to go out and play,” he says. Pecci beat Krickstein in straight sets in the fifth rubber. The threatening atmosphere and poor officiating cost Paraguay the right to host a tie for the rest of the year.

gas station racquet MATS WILANDER Everyone knows that the pros don’t play hard during exhibitions—everyone, Mats Wilander discovered, except Ivan Lendl. In May 1987, Wilander took an overnight flight from New York to Barcelona for a claycourt exhibition. Wilander arrived Monday morning, but his luggage, including his tennis racquets and shoes, did not. As Wilander waited in the locker room for his early-afternoon match against Lendl, the tournament sent someone out to buy him a Rossignol F200, an off-the-rack version of the customized stick he normally used. Wilander knew Lendl well, and knew he liked to go all out in practice. Turns out he had a similar opinion of exhibitions. “He’s kicking my butt so bad and it’s 6-love, 4-love,” Wilander says. At last, Wilander reached game point on his serve. He planned to serve and volley, the only tactic he could execute well with what he now calls his “gas station” racquet. “I thought, surely he’s going to chip a return in the middle of the court so I can put the volley away,” Wilander says. Instead, Lendl bent low and ripped a cross-court backhand winner. He broke Wilander’s serve and served out the match, 6-0, 6-0. “And I’m supposed to be the second-best clay court player in the world,” Wilander says. Lendl’s future wife, Samantha Frankel, rang Wilander’s room the next morning at 9:00 and told him that Lendl wanted to talk. Was an apology coming? Not quite. “He says, ‘Good morning, Mats,’ doesn’t say anything about the match, and he wants to know if I want to hit tennis balls. I said ‘Ivan, I don’t have any racquets, remember? No, I don’t want to hit tennis balls.’”

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“I’M GAINING NEWFOUND RESPECT FOR THE STRENGTH OF THAT ATLAS GUY.”

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Take a look at this photo and write your best one-liner. The winner will receive some gear. E-mail smashcaptions@ gmail.com.

“When the cup isn’t gold, it’s the pits.”

LAST ISSUE’S WINNER:

—Suzanne Bertrand, Onalaska, Wisc.

24 SMASH WINTER 2010/11

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Gael Monfils celebrates a Davis Cup win with his French teammates.

PHILIPPE DESMAZES/AFP/GETTY IMAGES

“SMASH” (ISSN 1930-2592) is published 4 times a year (Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter). Vol. 5, No. 4. Copyright © 2010 Miller Publishing LLC. Reproduction without permission is prohibited. Printed in the U.S.A. MANUSCRIPTS AND ART: The Publisher assumes no responsibility for return of unsolicited manuscripts, art, photos, or negatives. SUBSCRIPTIONS: USTA Members (800) 990-8782 or memberservices@usta.com. All other subscribers: U.S. and Canada (800) 666-8336, Foreign (515) 247-7569 or custserv@tennismagazine.com. SUBSCRIPTION RATES: U.S.A. and Possessions: 6 issues for $9.97. Canada: 6 issues for $15 (includes GST). Foreign: 6 issues for $15. Back issues available for purchase at www.tennis.com. CHANGE OF ADDRESS: Send your magazine label along with your new address to SMASH P.O. Box 5693, Harlan, IA 51593-1193. Please allow eight to twelve weeks for the address change to affect delivery. SUBSCRIPTION PROBLEMS: Write to SMASH P.O. Box 5693, Harlan, IA 515931193 and include a label from your latest issue, if available. Address all non-subscription correspondence to SMASH, 28632 Roadside Drive, Suite 235, Agoura Hills, CA 91301; POSTMASTER: Send address changes to SMASH, P.O. Box 5693, Harlan, IA 51593-1193. Periodical postage paid at New York, NY, and at additional mailing offices.

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smash cup Smash Magazine, in partnership with USTA, Wilson, and the Bloomfield Open Hunt in Bloomfield, MI hosted a sanctioned clay-court championship for boys and girls ages 8-18. Prizes included Smash Cup trophies, over-grips, hats, balls. Wilson provided sportsmanship awards. nd The tournament was a first of its kind iess ie in SEMTA - players and their families ela laxx had the unique opportunity to relax min ing g between matches at the swimming es. pool and in club dining facilities. th The tournament wrapped with a live band and party.

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