Ted Robinson’s Matchpoints

Leaving Centre Court 15 minutes after Serena completed the Sisters destiny, a Saturday Wimbledon final, and there was a throng gathered at the base of the staircase outside our NBC broadcast location.

I have never seen that kind of gathering so I paused to assess.

It was Richard Williams holding court.

My views on the man are clear: he is reprehensible in his words (racist) and deeds (the abandonment of his first family including three kids, see VENUS ENVY by Jon Wertheim for more details.)

My views on the father are also clear: he and Oracene Price raised two intelligent, talented and increasingly classy women.

He has said he is leaving Wimbledon, that he can’t watch the Sisters face each other. It doesn’t matter that he won’t be here. He has already won.

Women’s tennis is in a precarious state. Globalization doesn’t sell in America, the best emerging American player in recent years won’t acknowledge the U.S. (Maria Sharapova), the tour is losing its title sponsor and the world’s best player abruptly quit.

So enter the women who propelled the tour to new heights in the early part of this decade. They have been part-time players since with part-time success. But now, with a vacuum at the top of the sport, temporarily occupied by Ana Ivanovic while Sharapova flounders through the summer, Venus and Serena have made women’s tennis relevant again.

When they play Saturday, for the third time in a Wimbledon final at a Club they have owned (only one women’s final this decade has been without a Williams), America will watch. And that matters in tennis. The world will also watch, if nothing else but to see how time has treated the Sisters.

They will see a mature Venus who carries herself with grace and has superior grass court movement. They will see a pleasantly maturing Serena, who has finally tempered the loose tongue that has often dismissed and disrespected opponents.

Venus is never more confident than on Centre Court. It is her Magic Kingdom. Serena is healthy, playing in her eighth consecutive Slam, a personal record.

They were both pressed in the second sets of their semis, but neither was threatened with defeat. They simply serve too well.

But they have faced overmatched competition to this point, particularly Venus. No one else can challenge them thus the challenge must come from each other.

Rarely in their previous Slam finals did that happen. Five years of wisdom and maturity could well lead to a better match. As unpleasant as the assignment may be, I think the Sisters will put their lives on hold for two hours and give us a worthy final Saturday.

We talk about the pressure and wonder what impact it has on elite tennis players. We question those who seem to buckle under pressure and glorify those who rise above.  It’s part of the game as they so eloquently said in the great HBO series, “The Wire.”
 

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Then comes a moment when you see the question answered. You see tears flickering from the eyes of Ana Ivanovic as the new World No. 1 was on the verge of an upset loss Friday. Word filters through the tennis world that Ivanovic came to Wimbledon in a different mood. The sunny disposition and constant smile was gone.

I saw her on Sunday morning in Paris, the day after her champnioship, walking the streets with her support group and she was beaming. No one has seen a beam in London.

Is it the pressure of living up to her newly earned status? Is it the pressure of stardom in her home country? Did Ana suffer from some burnout, perhaps mental more than physical, as did fellow Serb Novak Djokovic? Those tears that Ana flicked away during the final changeover of her loss spoke loudly.
 
Some of the best grass-court tennis of the first week was played late Friday night by Mario Ancic in his four-set win over David Ferrer. Plagued most of 2007 by a viral illness, Ancic appears to be fully healthy and playing with the confidence that has made him a past threat here (semis against Andy Roddick in 2005.) Watching Ancic last night it was easy to believe that he could be the biggest roadblock to a third straight Federer-Nadal final. (It was six years ago- but remember that Ancic was the last man to beat Federer at Wimbledon.)
 
Ivanovic’s loss further cleared the path for a Sisters final. Serena was powerful in her Friday win over Amelie Mauresmo. The 2006 champ played a classic first set, moving well and displaying her fine grass-court skills. Serena needed to serve well , nearly 80%, to win in a tiebreak. Mauresmo collapsed after that and Serena pounced. Her round of 16 is American Bethanie Mattek, a fine show and the furthest advance of her career.
 
It turns out that James Blake doesn’t feel comfortable on grass. James feels less than fully confident in his movement and that is enough, he said, to take a slight edge off his aggressive play. Words like that, even if true, only support the feeling around the world that James is a one-surface player (fast hardcourt.) I cannot think of another top American in recent years who has stated uncertainty about playing on grass.

It was a final of two eminently likable women. Both Ana Ivanovic and Dinara Safina had reached the moment honestly, the product of hard work, seizing opportunity, growth of mind and rejection of fame over results.

Either women winning the crown was a win and there aren’t many championship matches to which one takes that feeling.

What most wanted to see was a good fight. The recent history of women’s finals at RG is miserable — seven years since a 3-setter, six since a remotely competitive final. Just give us two people playing through their nerves was a commonly held if not voiced thought.

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And the pair delivered. Ivanovic was frozen in the moment last year but he began this match striking her forehand boldly. Unlike last year and despite a healthy wind on this day, she had no issues with her toss.

Safina was the rookie but handled her first Slam final with few nerves. There some misses that hurt and a second serve problem, but overall she fought with the resolve that brought her to this day.

It was never more evident than the seventh game of the second set, a must hold for Safina. She battled through 7 deuces and multiple forehand winners from Ivanovic to hold.

That game was her last gasp — Ivanovic took 8 of the next 9 points to calmly win the title. But Safina was able to stand tall at the end, although she snuck in a reference to the “annoying” support of the Ivanovic group. Ana acknowledged so much in her speech, which makes me wonder if the tennis world will have to get used to the Serbs or will the newcomers adapt to the mores of tennis?

Justine Henin was in the first row to watch and then awarded the trophy she had won 4 times. It caused me to wonder: when JH and Kim Clijsters played for the 2003 title here, could anyone have imagined that 5 years later both Belgians would be retired while the Sisters would still be active? Not me.

It’s folly to think this will be the lone title for Ivanovic. She is too strong of forehand and serve and now owns the improved fitness that enabled her to claim this crown. What we will watch is how she handles her newfound dual status: #1 and Slam champion.

CORRECTION: Courtesy of tennis maven Leo Levin: Stefan Edberg and Boris Becker played in 3 consecutive Wimbledon finals (1988-90) so Fed and Nadal will be the second pair to achieve this in the Open Era.

A little tennis and a little culture from Roland Garros:

Not a great day for tennis - Serbia was the winner as the three standouts advanced to the semis. Ana Ivanovic and Jelena Jankovic won easily while talented Ernests Gulbis tested Novak Djokovic. Clearly seen, though, was that Gulbis must overcome a lack of training in Latvia. A hurry-up dose of experience and wisdom will give him the chance to be a Top 10 player.

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Big loser was Nicolas Almagro. Strong clay court results in the anonymity of lower tier tournaments do not translate into success at a Slam. Hate to be this strong but Almagro’s effort was pitiful. Court Chatrier is the biggest clay court stage in the world and he simply did not compete at anything approaching an acceptable level. Too often did Almagro stand still and watch Rafa Nadal winners fly by.

Can Nadal be better on clay? In the last four rounds, he has lost 17 games in 12 sets.

Junior focus: Ryan Harrison, 16, lost in 3 sets but in a Tennis Channel interview sounded amazingly poised. And he voiced the truth that must change for the US to ever truly hope of succeeding at Roland Garros — the clay here is not at all like the clay Harrison had played on at home. We must offer our best players the chance to train on red clay.

Pat McEnroe offered an interesting take on Melanie Oudin, the No. 1 seed in RG’s junior girls competition. Pat raved about her fight. It’s necessary for Oudin, from the Atlanta area, stands just 5-4. Unless she finds a height burst, it will be exceedingly difficult to project Oudin as a champion, but a good pro career is within reach due to her powerful ball striking and exceptional competitiveness.

Wednesday:
Women’s quarters find Svetlana Kuznetova facing first-timer Kaia Kanepi. Kuznetsova has the experience and the ability to withstand Kanepi’s power. Dinara Safina tries to reach her first Slam semi as she faces Elena Dementieva. But Elena has experience on her side in this matchup and has reduced her double fault problems. Is Dementieva ever favored in a big match?

Roger Federer is placed on the second court for his quarter with Fernando Gonzalez. Gonzo is playing more wisely on clay, an endorsement of coach Larry Stefanki, but history (10-1 Fed) and weather (heavy and damp) favors Federer.

Can Gael Monfils handle the moment? He’ll have a huge vibe in his favor but a tireless opponent across the net in David Ferrer. Ferrer should be too consistent for the erratic Monfils.

Culture notes:
My hotel TV carries a dozen Arabic channels, including Al Jazeera TV. The English-speaking channel has a US studio, incredibly clear pictures and the startling sights to an American viewer of women anchors in Muslim head wear.

BBC News, also available here, covers the US elections as if it were theirs. Interesting to frame the coverage here with Bill Clinton’s eternal popularity on this continent.

The lamentable state of our news coverage is evident at all times here. Multiple networks available here, including CNN International, cover Zimbabwe, the Pakistani suicide bombing and the aftermath of the China earthquake far more comprehensively than anything most of us see at home.

Headlines emphasize Maria Sharapova’s loss in Paris. But Monday wasn’t about Sharapova losing; it was about the arrival of Dinara Safina.

The Golden Girl is an uncomfortable clay courter, lacking the graceful movement so necessary and trying to win with fight and grit.

Check out MediaZone Tennis | E-mail Ted at MediaZone’s Mailbag | Sign up for my RSS FeedIn the first set, when Sharapova saved 6 break points and then 2 set points in a tiebreak, it looked to be another match that Maria would win on effort over excellence.

But, then Safina lifted her play for the first time in a Slam moment. This player of immense skill and equal measure self-doubt began to turn things her way when she appeared down and out.

The single moment that may elevate Safina to a top 10 player and legit Slam contender came on Sharapova’s match point. Safina unloaded a fierce two-hand backhand up the line to stay alive. And eventually Safina leveled the match with a tiebreak win.

Third set belonged to Safina in its entirety. No longer could Sharapova bull her way into a win, for on the other side stood a player who had erased her doubts. Safina closed out the match 6-2 to reach her third Slam quarter.

But this time no one (and Mats Wilander publicly proclaimed this) would be shocked if Safina could join her brother as a champ. The field is that open, although Sveta Kuznetsova has a Slam on her resume and Ana Ivanovic is playing like one as well.

David Ferrer is the intriguing man of the day. He rallied from 2-1 down to KO Radek Stepanek in 5 sets. One of the most unassuming top 5 players to ever play, Ferrer has placed himself into the realm of players who could challenge the big boys on clay. A Spaniard who openly admits he patterned himself after Lleyton Hewitt (who he beat in the third round), Ferrer is fit (consecutive 5-set wins), gives away nothing and changes direction on the ball better than anyone on tour.

Sounds a lot like the Jose Higueras formula for victory on clay? If Ferrer can outlast the wildly talented and erratic Gael Monfils in the quarters, a Fed-Ferrer semi could be an interesting warmup for Nadal-Djokovic.

In Melbourne, the women’s final was billed as “The Shriek” vs. “The Squeak”, a clever reference to the guttural noises made by Maria Sharapova and a new habit of shuffling her feet during her opponent’s ball toss introduced by Ana Ivanovic.

What we learned after Sharapova’s win was that she was playing against history — the massive disappointment she experienced in Melbourne a year ago against Serena, the loss of coach Michael Joyce’s mother and a nagging shoulder injury that compromised her serve and her results the rest of the year.

The tennis off-season is such a misnomer. It’s really a brief pause in the action but, used wisely, it can lead to dramatic change.

And that was proved by the final 2.

Ivanovic came to Australia, her second home, early and shed weight. Her improved fitness was one of this Slam’s big discoveries.

Sharapova healed her shoulder. Her serve was back, and it was neither a huge weapon nor a hindrance.

With more confidence in her serve, Sharapova’s nerves were steady. In fact, the only blip came in the first set of the final, when one poor service game allowed Ivanovic to level the set at 4-4.

Nerves were very much the story for Ivanovic. Was she finally ready for a big moment? The answer, sadly, was no when she played in last year’s French final. Her serve was AWOL and her performance eminently forgettable.

No such problem in this final. She was ready for the match, but couldn’t match Maria’s championship experience.

That is where Maria won her third Slam. After the 4-4 slip, Ivanovic held for 5-4. Sharapova dropped the first two points on her serve, leaving the Serb 2 points from the first set. But Sharapova’s serve steadied and, aided by a poor choice of drop shot at 15-30 from Ivanovic, the champ got to 5-5. Two games later, she had the set. And in the second set, Sharapova only lost three points on her serve.

I love Sharapova’s game face. Her on-court countenance is a model for young players to follow. I detest her shrieking and the antics of her father and sense that Maria may be trying to establish some distance.

Listen to her acceptance speech, wishing a happy birthday to her rarely seen mother and honoring the memory of Jane Joyce. There is maturity to Sharapova’s presence, far beyond her listed 20 years of age, and it should keep her at the top of the game alongside Justine Henin.

For the women’s game, therein lies the good news coming from Australia. Last year belonged to Justine Henin with little resistance. Now, while the Sisters results continue to suggest they cannot establish themselves as consistent winners, Sharapova stands poised to be Henin’s rival.

Daniela Hantuchova was up 6-0, 2-0 on Ana Ivanovic and you could feel the depression oozing out of my TV all the way from Melbourne.

I’ve been there. Endless hours of early round matches are tolerable because you know there is a payoff… the money rounds.

Then, you have a semifinal wipeout and the letdown is evident.

Maria Sharapova continued to steamroll the field although her win was less about her play and more about Jelena Jankovic appearing physically unable to handle the moment.

Jankovic is a fighter who scraps for everything. Add to that her relentless scheduling and the worry is that her stay at the top of the game could be brief. Except for her 2006 Open semi against Justine Henin, Jankovic has hit a wall in the final rounds of majors. Does she pay a steep toll for her lack of physical strength? Does her meek serve place too much stress on the rest of her game?

Martina Hingis and Henin are champions without size. Elena Dementieva has reached Slam finals without a serve. So, the thought is that Jankovic needs to show she can handle the moment, the last defining quality of a tennis champion.

Sharapova didn’t have to play her best to win but she can be excused after the demolition of Henin and Lindsay Davenport in earlier rounds. She showed her first signs of nerves, tossing in multiple doubles when trying to close the first set.

But Jankovic cooperated by serving 3 doubles in the first game of the second set and the rest of the match was about Jankovic determined not to pull a Henin and quit a match she was surely going to lose.

So when Ivanovic completely locked up in the first set against Hantuchova, we were wondering if the lone women’s match of the fortnight was going to be Maria-Henin.

Then, if quality wasn’t paramount, drama took over in the second set. Ivanovic held to win her first game and then seized the momentum with a break. After a Hantuchova hold, the key game of the match was played. It was game 6, second set and Ivanovic fighting for survival, finally playing with the necessary force, needed seven deuce points before holding. The flurry of tennis, much of it played for Ivanovic without a safety net, seemed to bring the Serb into the match.

The third set had no real swings, just the growing feeling that Hantuchova’s nerves were let her down. The bright young Slovak has rebounded from a meltdown that saw her cry on court at Wimbledon, suffer through an eating issue and slowly rebuild her game that once drew raves from the likes of Billie Jean King.

Slam finals have eluded Hantuchova and the thought of a finish line seemed to unnerve her. In fact, Ivanovic is no steely player herself, but she had the one advantage of having reached a final (RG ‘07.)

Hantuchova made her fatal mistake in game 9 of the third set smacking a volley into the net on break point. Ivanovic had no trouble finishing a match that made me think of Boris Becker.

The great Becker once said that the fifth set was not really about tennis but about the heart and the head. An exaggeration no doubt, but I get his point. And I believe it. And I think it holds true in many Slams within the last 8 women. Few have the hardened confidence of a Sharapova or Henin, most wobble on their way to becoming a champion.

Three of the four women in these semis are still wobbly in the biggest matches. And that’s why Sharapova should win her third Slam Saturday.

Great foreshadow, don’t you think, of a Venus-Serena final. We hadn’t had one in 4-and-a-half years and the tennis gods seemed to be aligning to repeat history. Both had favorable quarterfinal opponents, players they had dominated in past matches, and two heavyweights were smacking each other around in another quarter.

And, within 24 hours, the Sisters are gone. From everything. Serena tanked her quarter to Jelena Jankovic, and then the Sisters dropped a doubles match after winning the first set.

On Wednesday afternoon in Melbourne, Venus played a match all too familiar to those who have followed her in recent years.

Erratic was the best word to describe the elder Sister. Her normally splendid serve only appeared in bursts, leading to an astounding number of breaks (how can Venus have lost serve over 25 times in the Open?)

She fell into a service pattern that was quickly detected by the wise Pam Shriver and Mary Joe Fernandez. One would imagine Ana Ivanovic noticed as well.

Venus was invisible off the ground, striking just 4 winners, all off her forehand.

Overall, it was a stark reminder that since being dethroned atop the sport by Serena, Venus has been a one-venue standout.

She rules Centre Court, Wimbledon.

There her game returns and she flows as if it was 7 or 8 years ago. She crushes groundstrokes with utter confidence and her game is remarkably free of errors.

For 5 years, she has been a good, not great player everywhere else tennis is played. She is a round of 16/quarterfinalist that eventually runs into a good player not intimidated by her name.

And that’s where Ana Ivanovic grew up before our eyes. Yes, she has played in one Slam final but nerves have been a question. She hasn’t played well in the brightest lights, albeit against top-flight competition.

Before this quarter, she had never taken a set from Venus and was blasted off the court in 2 Slams last year by the Elder.

So, when Ivanovic won the ragged first set in a decisive tiebreak, a barrier was broken.

Then, Venus won the first 3 games of the second set and a reversal seemed imminent.

Except Ivanovic hit the emergency brake, broke back to 3-3 and then won the significant point. With Venus serving at 3-3, 40-15, Ivanovic won a long grinding point that required heavy movement from both on a hot afternoon. The measure of fitness is always the points that follow and the new and improved, in that regard, Ivanovic went on to win the next 3 points and break.

Even though Venus broke back to 4-4, Ivanovic had stopped the momentum. And moments later, the match was hers.

That’s 3 appearances in the “final 4” of the last 4 Slams for Ivanovic, the Djokovic of the women’s side. What Ana lacks is the signature win that her comrade Novak achieved over Federer in Montreal last August.

Now she gets a revived Daniela Hantuchova in the semis and the certainty of Maria Sharapova in a potential final.

Venus? She’s 27 so it’s hard to think much will change. When she hits the grass of Wimbledon again in June, she will likely morph into the queen for two weeks. But that’s her term limit.

Things have calmed in Melbourne but potentially stirring tennis awaits in Week 2. Just look at the quarters: Federer-Blake for the men (the final 8 still to be completed) and the women with a trifecta of Venus-Ivanovic, Serena-Jankovic and Sharapova-Henin.

This women’s Slam has been like most others, devoid of entertainment and challenging matches until Week 2, with the notable exception of the fluke Davenport-Sharapova Round 2 encounter.

The lack of women’s depth hurts Week 1, leading to a tedious procession of unexciting matchups, but helps Week 2, when the leading lights are more than likely to collide.

Notable in the final 8 women is Venus Williams, her first such appearance in Australia since 2003. Her last 3 Slams are now a Wimbledon title, a US Open semi and the quarters in Australia, again her best such stretch in 5 years.

How scary is it to realize that Venus, at 27, is the oldest remaining woman in the draw?

And here she has history on her side- a 4-0 career mark against Ana Ivanovic including a one-sided win at last year’s Wimbledon.

Jelena Jankovic has yet to achieve what Ivanovic, Svetlana Kuznetsova, and even Marion Bartoli have by reaching a Slam final. Much of that is attributable to her awful record against Justine Henin (0-9). Now, reaching her first Aussie quarter she runs into a fitter Serena Williams who took Jankovic down easily in last year’s round of 16.

Then there is another chapter in the epic Sharapova-Justine rivalry. Henin has the career edge at 6-2, but Maria has her second Slam title (06 US Open) at Justine’s expense. Henin has tried to counter with wins in the last 2 Tour Championships, November’s Shanghai match a classic with Henin rebounding from a first-set loss to win in 3. It was the match that capped a phenomenal year for Henin, 63-4 in singles, yet marked a rebound for Sharapova, whose shoulder woes ruined the second half of 2007.

Now Sharpova’s serve is a talking point from opponents in Australia. They have been surprised by its improvement. Henin has not showed any weakness either so this QF could be a classic.

By the way, don’t forget that this Aussie could see, for the first time since Wimbledon 2003, a Venus-Serena final.

What a day/night/morning at the Aussie Open: Andy Roddick falls in a well-played five set match and Andy himself says he’s “tired of thinking of new ways to say the same thing,” James Blake looks to be done at the hands of a fading Seb Grosjean only to rally from 0-2 and 1-4 in the third set breaker to win in 5 and suddenly James’ five-set failures are a fading memory, Lleyton Hewitt takes down Marcos Baghdatis in a match that STARTED near midnight and ended at 4:30 AM in Melbourne, last year’s finalist Fernando Gonzalez is sent home by a young Croat named Marin Cilic, Venus continued to cruise while a shocking slide continues for Amelie Mauresmo who showed a shocking “lack of nerves” in falling to Aussie Casey Dellacqua, and “peripheral” women Svetlana Kuznetsova and Anna Chakvetadze fell (isn’t it sad to label Kuznetsova when she is 2 in the world but does anyone think she can win a major if Justine Henin, Maria Sharapova and the Sisters are on their games?)

Yet it all pales next to Roger Federer and Janko Tipsarevic. In the fifth set, for the first time in 5 years on a court other than Roland Garros, I thought Federer was going down. Tipsarevic played with such boldness, never buckling in the presence of tennis greatness, striking the ball beautifully and answering every moment where Federer tried to exert himself. A sense washed over me that this would be the moment that the great one would be proved human.

Wrong again and I couldn’t help but be amazed by Federer’s fitness in the late stages of the fifth set. His workouts in the searing heat of Dubai don’t receive much publicity but last summer, American Jesse Levine talked about his experience as a “practice partner” to prepare Federer for the US Open. There were always 3 or 4 young players ready to practice with Federer. They rotated, staying fresher under the blistering sun. Federer, though, always stayed on court.

In Melbourne, Federer reaped the benefits of that work. We rarely see it because he is seldom pushed to five sets. But in the fifth set against Tipsarevic, as in last year’s Wimbledon final, Federer’s tennis is challenged but his body doesn’t fail.

The level of play produced by Tipsarevic was astounding. He simply didn’t miss of the ground and hit with enough force and depth to prevent Federer from exercising his strength- controlling the groundstrokes.

As Roddick had in defeat, Federer produced a record-setting service night. But that Roger needed 39 aces is further proof of the play of Tipsarevic.

Last thought: in tennis, we know more than most about Serbia. What too few know, and wasn’t emphasized last night, is that Tipsarevic stayed home while Jelena Jankovic, Novak Djokovic and Ana Ivanovic all left to pursue their tennis dreams. He had no benefactor and had to develop his game amidst the devastation of war. But Tipsarevic and his fellow Serbs have one thing in common: they have shown us all heart, fight and above all, fearlessness. After a childhood of bombings, warplanes and ethnic cleansing, what about a tennis match can cause one to back down? Tipsarevic showed the answer was not even the great Federer.