Looking forward to the 2012 season

Like million other people, I want to talk about a legend who answers to the name of Roger Federer. He compiled a 59-12 record for the year, did manage to peak for the slams and at the age of 30, is the one top player on the tour who is finishing strong. Looking at the 2010 season vs 2011 season, it would be tempting to say that 2010 was much better (1GS, WTF, 1MS and 2 other titles) but looking at the matches individually is far more illuminating. The losses he endured in 2010 were very depressing for me personally as his fan. To lose from the situations he did against Baghdatis, Berdych and Gulbis showed mental frailty not previously associated with him. The loss to Montanes was the lowest point. While he had a tall mountain to climb against Soderling in those conditions at RG, the losses to Hewitt and Berdych on grass really hurt and one kept thinking, we have to keep perspective of what he has already achieved and that is really just a way of accepting he is no longer good enough. Fortunately, Roger did not believe that nonsense. He did have a couple more hurtful losses in 2010 (Djokovic at USO, Monfils at Bercy) but the new trend was that people needed to play outstanding tennis to beat Roger. And that is the major difference to me this season. His losses in 2011 have rarely been down to self destruction or very poor planning, and have mostly been due to the level of play from his opponent. That is something we have to accept as a fan. There were some matches this year when he wasn't playing good tennis by his lofty standards (Miami semis, Dubai finals, Monte-Carlo loss to Melzer and Cincy loss to Berdych) but all other matches showcased a Roger playing very good tennis and telling the opponent that he needed to play exceedingly well if he hopes to win. He lost 3 slams to the eventual winner and was frankly playing well enough to win all 4 slams. Often in tennis, your best results don't coincide with your best efforts and require an element of luck (dropshot on set point missing by an mm, catching the tape on a forehand drive on match point and floating wide). Last year, Nadal benefited from a loss of form suffered by Roger, Novak, Murray and injuries to Del Potro and Davydenko and he used the momentum and the draws opening up for the same reasons to win 3 slams. It makes Djokovic's achievements a little more admirable because he won his 3 slams while the other 3 top players were in great form all year round. Assuming that Roger rounds out the season with another WTF title, there will be no doubt that he will be the hottest player heading into 2012 much like 2011 but a year later with his skills well honed, achieving lofty goals might come down to good scheduling and staying fit. And that might mean getting his own room to avoid 4am wake up calls during the tournaments.

Davis Cup: Juan Martin Del Potro

Juan man stands out in Belgrade

NEWS ARTICLE

By

• Chris Bowers

Juan Martin del Potro (ARG) Photo: Srdjan Stevanovic

Our reporter in Belgrade, Chris Bowers, analyses the difference between the two teams during Argentina's Davis Cup by BNP Paribas World Group semifinal victory over Serbia, largely the performance of Juan Martin del Potro.

The Serbia v Argentina tie was expected to be all about the new US Open champion Novak Djokovic. When he walked out for his singles on Sunday, he was given a hero's reception by a packed and ecstatic Belgrade Arena. But the tie ultimately proved to be about his predecessor-but-one, the 2009 US Open champion Juan Martin del Potro.

Del Potro seemed to have the world on his racket strings when he beat Roger Federer in a five-set final at Flushing Meadows two years ago. But a wrist injury at the start of 2010 deprived him of almost the whole of last year, and it has been a gradual ascent up the rankings since the start of this year.

Yet this weekend he proved he is back. His ranking may still be closer to 20 than to 10, but rankings indicate consistency rather than the ability to win a big match, and del Potro has regained the ability to beat the top players on any given day.

He described his straight sets win over Janko Tipsarevic on Friday as 'one of my best wins of the season', and while his 76(5) 30 win over Djokovic on Sunday was completed by the Serb's retirement with a lower back injury, del Potro clearly thought he was playing well enough to win even against a fully fit opponent.

In retrospect, Djokovic's involvement in the semifinal resembled the legendary Spanish figure El Cid, the 11th century warrior who was put into battle despite being wounded because his reputation alone was likely to instil fear into his Moor opponents.

Despite being held back until Sunday, Djokovic's appearance at the start of the fourth rubber suggested the semifinal was headed for a decisive fifth match, in which Tipsarevic would have started a slight favourite against David Nalbandian. But del Potro was not to be fooled by the warrior's reputation, and once the Argentinean had won the opening set, Djokovic looked a beaten man.

The irony is that Serbia's hold on the Davis Cup has come to an end when the country has unprecedented success in the rankings and the Grand Slams. It paraded the same four players who won the Cup last year, but with its singles players ranked 1, 13 and 15, and the doubles player Nenad Zimonjic third in the doubles rankings.

Yet those numbers mask a tired and injured Djokovic, a second player in Tipsarevic who is still recovering from a gruelling run to the US Open quarterfinals, and a fragile Victor Troicki whose confidence is low after a poor hard court season. Against an Argentinean team that has discovered its belief in away ties, the Serbs were ripe to be picked off.

The question now is whether Argentina has any realistic chance of a first Davis Cup title in what will be its fourth Final. Playing away to Spain doesn't make things easy, and it's tempting to pencil in Rafael Nadal's two singles matches as home wins. That would leave the visitors needing to beat Spain's No. 2 player twice, and win the doubles.

It's a tall order, but by no means impossible. If del Potro can keep up the form he showed this weekend, he has at least a 50:50 chance against Spain's second player (presumably David Ferrer). The one worrying element for Spain from its win over France was the doubles pairing, which looks an Achilles heel that could be exploited by Argentina if Nalbandian can pair up with a partner he's comfortable with, perhaps Eduardo Schwank who was overlooked for the semifinal against Serbia.

That might give Argentina a 2-1 lead going into the final day, and if the 2011 Davis Cup by BNP Paribas were to come down to a live fifth rubber, anything could happen. Del Potro beating Nadal in the fourth is also not entirely out of the question, as he is likely to be the fresher of the two men at that time of year.

For Nalbandian, who will be 30 on New Year's Day, this could be the final realistic chance of a Davis Cup winner's medal. For del Potro, there is a sense that if it doesn't happen this year, it could happen in the next few years, as Argentina have another healthy crop of youngsters looking to break through. Either way, the legacy of this weekend in Belgrade could well be that Argentina have rediscovered their self-belief, and have their eyes set on a first Davis Cup title.

http://www.daviscup.com/en/news/articles/juan-man-stands-out-in-belgrade.aspx

Post USO Thoughts about Roger

Roger will be as dangerous in any slam next year as he was in 2011. Especially on clay and grass.

What I liked seeing at the USO this year was how Roger successfully negotiated the brackish water of tennis, where aging players reconcile physical limitations to their game. Rather than being shocked by his body not performing on demand, Roger considered the merit of running down a drop shot just to keep a ball in play. In a split second, he decided to spare his groin undue stress and let the point go. Smart.

Planning match strategies is critical for Roger for the remainder of his career and Annacone's help is key. Based on what I've seen this year, Roger could well be the most dangerous player at Wimbledon in 2012. It's a great surface for his game and we could very well see Roger play his best grass court tennis ever. Much like his best clay court tennis at the French this year.

And speaking of the French, Roger could win that as well in 2012. He'll need the right strategies, some luck with the draw and favorable scheduling. A lot to ask of any player but Roger isn't any player. I favor clay and grass for Roger next year because those surfaces are the most forgiving and his body will recover quicker between matches. This is key.

I'm looking forward to seeing Roger play the indoor season this year. But more than that, I think he's going to produce his most beautiful game on clay and grass in 2012.

I can't wait.

USO 2011 Roger v Giraldo

Interesting match to say the least. Prior to its start, Chris Evert was talking to Chris Fowler about Roger's game. Evert expressed her desire to see Roger 100% focused on all points during a match. Evert would know something about concentration. What she lacked in a big serve she made up for with impeccable ground strokes and the focus of a professional assassin. Chris once said that her retirement was a result of her waning focus more than anything else.

Roger's game and concentration looked exceptional until he was serving at 5-1 for the first set. And that's when ESPN switched coverage to the Monfils v Dimitrov match. Unfortunately for this fan, ESPN did not get back to Ashe Stadium until the 2nd set where Roger was down a break and missing his shots by a mile.

Due to the cover breakup I lost track of Roger's game. On the one hand it seemed that Roger was working on his attacking game. Big groundies and serves and throwing in s/v even though the odds were some times too low to win a point that way.

He also played like he was late for a plane. Even through his patches of mishits, which I attribute to loss of focus, he still moved beautifully around the court. In a fever pitch.

Roger played fast tennis in Cincy. What I'm looking for is how Roger adapts his game - and speed - when he hits rough patches. Against Giraldo, he wasn't tested. It's against the likes of Tsonga, del Potro and Berdych that speed tennis can get away from Roger when momentum shifts in a New York minute. I'll be looking for ways he modifies his aggression against better players when/if he loses focus and misfires here and there. Roger could benefit immensely by working more on his second serve for the remainder of the tournament.

All in all, it was another Federer match where his fans could feast their eyes on the best to ever play the game.

Sampras Compares Del Potro to Federer

Written by: Erin Frauenhofer on 30th July 2011

Juan Martin Del Potro may have fallen in Los Angeles on Friday, but the Argentine remains one of the top talents on the ATP tour. Del Potro will be looking to make his mark at the U.S. Open this year after winning the title in 2009, and according to the legendary Pete Sampras, the world No. 19 has what it takes to become one of the best in the sport. Sampras recently told the LA Times that he sees similarities between Del Potro and Roger Federer.

“I am a big proponent of his game,” Sampras recently told the LA Times. “He has a murder serve and I like the fact he hits a pretty flat ball. That’s not easy for a guy of his height.”

But more importantly, 14-time Grand Slam champion Sampras pointed toward Del Potro’s mental toughness as a key indicator of his potential to someday join the ranks of Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic, and Federer.

“I also like his big attitude,” Sampras added. “He’s not afraid of winning or saying he wants to be right there with Nadal and Djokovic and Federer. And part of his attitude is that he’s willing to take chances.”

“In that way he’s a little like Federer. Federer will go for big shots and he’s willing to miss, but the makes can be incredible. DelPo is the same way.”

On Friday, the Argentine was ousted by Ernests Gulbis in straight sets in Los Angeles, but despite the disappointing showing by the second-seeded Del Potro, he will continue his hard-court preparations as the U.S. Open looms on the horizon.

Del Potro has been steadily working his way back up the rankings this year, after missing a significant chunk of time last season due to injuries. The Argentine will be looking to continue improving on the hard courts this summer as he works to regain his top form.

As Friday’s loss to Gulbis showed, Del Potro certainly has room for improvement, but the 22-year-old is up for the challenge, recently telling reporters in Los Angeles that he is eager to improve all aspects of his game and is looking forward to the U.S. Open.

“I’m not thinking about my wrist, about different injuries that I had last year and the beginning of this season,” Del Potro had said. “Now I have everything to improve, starting with my ranking, with my game, with my body, with my physicality.”

Referring to the U.S. Open, the Argentine said, “I am very excited to come back to New York. If I could start to play tomorrow I would. First, I have very important tournaments before.”

http://www.10sballs.com/2011/07/30/sampras-compares-del-potro-to-federer/

Farmers Classic/UCLA - Friday, 29 July

Del Potro is halfway between vacation and back into tennis. His first serve was the dead giveaway where he pulled his head down before making contact with the ball way too many times. Probably wanted to put his head down on a pillow and go to sleep. Still it's fun to watch the big man move around the court.

Gulbis was pretty inspired and fired up. I saw him warming up with Canas. I was surprised to see that Gulbis hired someone who was banned from the sport for a time for drug offense. I guess he and his team believe in second chances for those who made wrong turns at some point in their lives. Pretty generous I'd say.

Larry Passos

More fun than watching that match was meeting and talking to Larry Passos during the Belluci / Bogomolov match. He's an intense character. The very stern fatherly type. No nonsense. And he gesticulates with his hands like crazy. If Bellucci missed a shot, Passos would imitate the correct way to hit it with his hands. Then fold his arms and wait for the next point to end. Half the time it was just an ongoing conversation Passos had with himself. Bellucci played a stunning first set and then Bogomolov found ways to break his rythym by challenging line calls, taking a MTO, more line call discussions, hitting loopy moonballs back. Pretty much anything to throw off Bellucci and it worked. Bellucci 's ability to focus grew increasingly worse in the 2nd set. At one point Passos told Alex B to knock off all the line call crap. There was also quite a bit of back and forth between Passos and Bellucci when Thomaz' mind started wandering. Since I don't speak Portuguese I can't be sure Passos was coaching but it sure seemed like it.

Between the points we spoke about Bogomolov's Brazilian wife (who is why Larry knows him and thought it was fine to call him out on the nutty line calls), Bogomolov's gambling and subsequent ban from the game, and Bellucci's focus. I managed to ask him what he thought of Dimitrov's game. His answer: 'Beautiful game. Beautiful strokes. Very talented. He's young.'

Then I asked "Where's Guga?"

Passos' response: "On a beach somewhere."

Some guy two seats over turned to Passos and asked him if he knew Bellucci. "I'm his coach!" croaked Larry.

A man of few words and loads of gestures. Larry Passos. Love the guy.

Farmers Classic/UCLA - Tuesday, 26 July

It wasn't my plan to attend the event other than to see Del Potro. But the line-up yesterday had Ryan Harrison v. Richard Berankes and later Haas v. Dimitrov. Too many interesting players to miss any of it.

These smaller events are pure gold. I always find coaches at the outer courts who are more than willing to talk about all things tennis and I hit pay dirt yesterday. The coach I found kn0ws Berankes well. He also knows Ryan Harrison. He's coached a number of juniors – mostly from Eastern European countries - including Grigor Dimitrov so he's been around the world attending events from the slams to the bowls and everything else in between. It’s an excellent way to get the skinny on players, how they think, their strengths and uncover some bonehead moves. Well worth the effort.

Richard Berankes

He's been out of circulation due to a back injury and he's really terrific. The guy has one of the cleanest games I've seen. No wasted movement. His second serve is fantastic and he uses solid point structure to set up at the net where he hits a sweet volley. I suspect it was his lack of match play post-injury that caused the mental fatique in the third set where, up a break on Harrison, he lost serve twice in a row. I like Berankes' on court demeanor. No foolishness, no wasted emotion or inane challenges to buy time to catch his breath. He does his very best from start to finish. I understand why Roger has practiced with him in the past. He’s a refreshing player. No weapons other than his quickness about the court. He's not tall but he's got heart, he's a thinker and he respects the sport.

Ryan Harrison

This kid has the kind of personality that gives Americans a bad rap. He’s got a big serve and had absolutely no game plan to back it up against Berankes yesterday. All Berankes had to do was wait for a second serve to get the ball into play and it drove Harrison into several melt downs. Racket throwing, swearing, spitting, accusing Berankes of winning a game without hitting a clean shot. All the while the chair umpire, Mohamed Lahyani, didn’t issue any warnings. Lahyani is one of my favorite umpires and it was disappointing to see him give the punk a pass. Meanwhile, Berankes had a bit of a laugh at Harrison’s on court antics. The coach I sat next to pointed out how Harrison was behaving, badly, in front of a bunch of children who were looking at him as their next tennis idol. What a mess.

James Blake

He played beautiful tennis last night. Everything was fluid and it was a joy to see him hit immaculate ground strokes at this late stage of his career. He looked great against Michael Berrer last night but I expect he’s going to have a heap of trouble against del Potro tonight.

Grigor Dimitrov

He looked fantastic on the practice court and a tad wobbly in his first set against Tommy Haas. He seemed startled by his increasing power. As though he was thinking “I can hit the ball that hard!” and then not have his feet planted under his body to support his developing strength. Awkward. You see the same adjustment challenges with shot selection on big points. Some sloppy work on groundies – hitting bigger forehands than necessary – when all he needed to do was pull it back to 80% to win the point. And then he goes and hits a running BH DTL winner to take the first set. He’s got game and he’s working with the right coach now. Lundgren messed him up by putting him in the big events, against the better players too soon. McNamara is taking him through the lower events so he can win a few rounds and develop confidence. It’s fun watching him sort it out and pull his all court game together. The one cause for concern is that Dimitrov hasn’t taken any kind of a break this summer and the hard court season is only getting started. His serve reminds me a lot of Roger’s.

One sweet note from the Dimitrov/Haas match. The coach I mentioned came into the stadium with 5 or 6 of his junior players and marched them all down to the front row for an unobstructed view of Dimitrov. That was nice.

Players’ Wives

Next to coaches, these are the next best people to sit next to at events. They tell much different stories than the coaches and the one I spoke with last night should seriously consider stand up comedy. Her husband’s played Nadal twice at Wimbledon and she told me how Uncle Toni cheats. At one point during a match at Wimbledon, she had to remove herself from the players’ box to avoid attacking Uncle Toni. ROFLMAO! Throughout all the matches, Uncle Toni is telling Nadal what to do. More slice VAMOS! Backhand VAMOS! He issues the instructions and ends the comment with VAMOS so it sounds like all he’s doing is encouraging Nadal, which he’s entitled to do. The chair umpires don’t challenge this because the tournament directors need Nadal in the event to continue to sell tickets. But watching this woman imitate how Uncle Toni calls out to Nadal was priceless.

Annacone confident of more Federer success

7/19/11 3:48 PM | Johan Lindahl
Coach Paul Annacone remains confident of continued success for his elite client Roger Federer as the Swiss strives to end a Grand Slam trophy drought stretching back more than a year and a half.

No. 3 Federer will return to the ATP from early August at the Montreal Masters and will be defending his title the next week in Cincinnati to mark his preparation for the August 29 start of the US Open.

Annacone, who coached Pete Sampras, says the Swiss will be back a winner. "In today's men's game it's very difficult to compete," he told told local media in upstate New York. "You see Novak Djokovic having such a great year and Rafa's always Rafa, so that makes it difficult.

"But Roger got to the semis in the Australian Open, the finals of the French Open, and quarter-finals of Wimbledon: he's right there. I don't see any reason why he's not going to be really geared up and ready to play in New York."

Federer, who turns 30 next month, won five straight titles at Flushing Meadows 2004-2008 but lost the 2009 final to Juan Del Potro in a fifth set and went out in the semis a year ago to current NO. 1 Novak Djokovic.

He is currently on summer break after winning a post-Wimbledon Davis Cup rubber which put Switzerland into a World Group playoff spot in the autumn.

It's been six majors since Federer last won a major, one of his longest runs without big success. Annacone says it's now mainly about mental strength for the rock-solid Swiss.

"When you're fortunate enough to be with someone like Roger, most of it is just game management, understanding what he wants to do and how he's going to do it. A lot of it is your mental disposition and also the strategic way you're approaching the match on the day."

Could Federer and Hingis Team Up for Olympic Mixed Doubles?

Martina Hingis Asked by Roger Federer to Play Mixed Doubles at 2012 Olympics in London

by Ben Rothenberg on Jul 13, 2011 3:51 PM EDT in Coverage

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WASHINGTON - July 11: Martina Hingis serves for the New York Sportimes in a World Team Tennis match at Kastles Stadium at The Wharf. Photo by Kelyn Soong, a freelance tennis photographer who you can check out more of on his site and his Twitter.

WASHINGTON--Though she was twice forced out of the sport, Switzerland's Martina Hingis is back in tennis for good.

The five-time Grand Slam singles champion and Hingis is playing more (and better) than she has in years, and seems to enjoy tennis more than she has at any point in her life.

" It gave me everything I have today," Hingis said after her World Team Tennis match Tuesday.

"I'm very grateful that tennis exists, really."

Hingis has shown her appreciation for the game by filling her 2011 calendar with play. She has participated in Legends' events at the French Open and Wimbledon, World Team Tennis, and several other exhibitions.

But World Team Tennis and Legends' events would pale in comparison to the step back into the sport's biggest stage that Hingis could take in 2012.

* * *

In 2009, mixed doubles was added as a fifth tennis event at the 2012 Olympic Games in London, the tennis portion of which will be held at the All-England Club in Wimbledon).

Shortly after the announcement, more than two years before the competition, Serena Williams and Andy Roddick announced their partnership. Roddick said last summer that "24 seconds after they announced that they were going to have mixed doubles in the Olympics, I was flooding Serena's telephone."

"Calls, missed calls, text messages--borderline stalking. And I annoyed her into submission."

While being annoying at the earliest possible moment paid dividends for Roddick in finding an opposite gender compatriot to play with, other players have gone about finding partners differently, with few confirmed partnerships announced.

But that doesn't mean there hasn't been a frenzy of action behind the scenes.

* * *

Though he has accomplished so much else in his career (namely a record sixteen Grand Slam singles titles), there can't be many players more grateful for Olympic doubles than Switzerland's Roger Federer.

Federer entered the 2008 Beijing Olympics at one of the lower points of his career. He had just lost to Rafael Nadal in the epic final of Wimbledon 2008, and had suffered a crushing defeat to him in the 2008 French Open final just before that. He had lost the No. 1 singles ranking for the first time since early 2004.

Having suffered early exits in singles at both Athens 2004 (to Tomas Berdych) and then at Beijing 2008 (to James Blake), it seemed as though Federer might never find success at the Olympics.

But partnering with countryman Stanislas Wawrinka in the oft overlooked men's doubles competition, Federer won gold for Switzerland and made it atop the Olympic podium--with a little help from his friend. Federer was decidedly ecstatic, though he showed it in a decidedly unconventional way.

The gold medal in doubles (or perhaps just the celebration) brought Federer's game back to life. He won the following US Open, and three of the next five grand slams (including his first French Open). If it hadn't been for Olympic doubles, the second act of Federer's career might never have happened.

* * *

Hopefully after those first three sections (and more obviously, by the headline) you can see where this story is headed.

A bit obsessed with mixed doubles (and impressed with her current form), I asked Martina Hingis after the match Wednesday if she would consider coming back to the highest level of the game to compete for Switzerland at the 2012 London Olympics in mixed doubles with Roger Federer. And since I framed (and considered) it a hypothetical, I was surprised by her answer.

TDF: You're playing so well now, and there aren't really any other Swiss women near the top of the game at the moment...

Martina Hingis: (nervous laughter [she seems to anticipate just as well off the court as she does on it])

TDF: I was wondering--they're having mixed doubles at the Olympics next year, and someone who has had success in doubles in the Olympics is your countryman, Roger Federer...

Martina Hingis: (more nervous laughter)

TDF: Would you play in the Olympics with him, if he asked?

Martina Hingis: You're tricky, right? (Laughs) Well...he kind of was like, through the angles, he already, like, you know tried, a little bit? But I don't know...

TDF: He already tried to ask you?

Martina Hingis: Well...I don't know? Not him, personally, but...I mean, they asked that question...We're still a long way away, so...

TDF: But you're not saying no, you're open to it?

Martina Hingis: I don't know, I don't know...I'm not sure, because you have to really commit. And I feel great right now, but, you know, it's still a long way to go, it's another year.

TDF: So just to be clear, someone from his team did ask you?

Martina Hingis: Yeah, they did. But who knows...I mean, I would have to play some doubles before, or some mixed....who knows?

Whoa.

* * *

A Martina Hingis-Roger Federer pairing would be the story in tennis going into the Olympics.

Not only would it be a fascinating trans-era partnership, it would also almost certainly be an incredibly successful one. Hingis and Federer are widely considered to be two of the greatest tactical minds of the Open Era, both with incredible creativity and touch. Hingis and Federer have each won over a dozen grand slam titles, with Hingis having won five in singles, nine in women's doubles, and one in mixed, and all 16 of Federer's coming in singles.

The success of a Hingis-Federer pairing isn't entirely conjecture, either. In January of 2001, before Federer had won a single title at the ATP level, Hingis and Federer paired to win the Hopman Cup for Switzerland.

Their mixed doubles play was especially impressive, losing only 10 games in six sets of live rubber action before conceding a dead rubber in the final to the American team of Monica Seles and Jan-Michael Gambill.

* * *

Coming from a country that had never produced any great champions before they came along, Hingis and Federer have often been compared to one another. With both being Swiss finesse players, the connections are easy, and more importantly, fair.

But while questions about other players often irritate tennis players, both Hingis and Federer have always seem greatly pleased be asked about the other.

Aside from the obvious on-court reasons for them to play together, it's clear that Hingis and Federer also share a great deal of respect and admiration for one another (if not a closeness that allowed for Roger to ask Martina about London directly).

"At the time, mixing with her, playing in doubles with her, was a privilege for me," Federer said of Hingis in 2008.

"Roger is the most talented and the most complete player on the tour," Hingis said of Federer in 2004.

* * *

The partnership is far from a done deal, clearly. But from her uncharacteristic nervousness and evasiveness when the topic was broached, it's clear that Hingis is taking Federer's offer very, very seriously.

I just hope she has the self-belief to give it a shot.