Ted Robinson’s Matchpoints

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.

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.

The Americans have found the red clay, Andy Roddick and James Blake arriving in Rome this week. Hope is that improved results await at Roland Garros, as the bar can’t be lower after last year’s troubles.

Rafa Nadal uses this time of year as his personal marathon, playing every week on the surface he so loves. But even the superhuman occasionally stumble upon kryptonite. Nadal’s was his decision to play everywhere.

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So, in his third straight week on clay, Rafa was bounced in his first match of the Rome Masters by J. C. Ferrero. After failing to break at 4-4, 0-40 in the first set, Nadal ran out of gas and offered little reply to a strong serving performance from Ferrero.

No alarm should be taken from this result- the days off before Hamburg should benefit Nadal.

Instead, I offer another view of the “King of Clay.” This comes from an American now living in Barcelona, a knowledgeable tennis fan who attended three days of the Godo Seat last week.

If ever Nadal were to take a week off in the clay season, this would have been the time. But how can he miss a tournament in Spain? Our correspondent: “The crowd seemed most excited by Nadal’s presence (due to his international stardom both on court, and on TV and in magazines.)”

Interesting that the crowd displayed strong play for fellow Spaniard David Ferrer, the decided underdog in the final. It also took any edge off a match between two good friends.

Nadal won and the true view of this champion came in the aftermath when few eyes are on him. Luckily, our correspondent was there: “As Nadal was walking off the court, there were a group of kids trying to get autographs. Rafa stopped and signed every autograph he could, then handed his winning racquet to a young girl. The look on her face upon receiving the racquet was an unforgettable moment…she absolutely lit up! It was a great moment, only witnessed by the remaining few in the stadium. He is clearly someone who cares about his fans.”

Strong move by the USTA to enter an agreement with FFT to swap wild cards at the respective majors. There was a playoff in Florida last week won by Madison Brengle and Wayne Odesnik. Their experience in playing main draw at Roland Garros can only help reverse our recent clay results.

We all need to exhale and appreciate Roger Federer.

At a time of unprecedented depth, he is crushing men’s tennis. We have never seen someone so thoroughly excel on the biggest stages.

By taking out James Blake in straight sets, Federer is now one match away from his 11th consecutive Slam final. I never thought I would see such a streak. And I don’t believe I’ll ever see another.

He has now won 19 consecutive matches at the Aussie and has a shot at a third straight title to add to his 5 Wimbledons and 4 US Opens.

This year has seen him tested and he still stands. Blake played the right kind of match, aggressive and bold. James used his power, rebounded from the misses that resulted from that play and never backed away from the great Federer.

But this was a match where Federer channeled his Pete Sampras. He was at his best late in sets, looking for the one break to turn a set.

Federer pulled that off in the first set, one that started poorly for Blake. James was broken in his first service game, tossing in 2 doubles. What made this match better for Blake was that he immediately rebounded to break Federer.

The two moved on serve to 4-5 when Federer put together 3 terrific points to rip the set away from Blake.

Second set, same pattern- early break by Federer for 2-0, Blake counters with a break back for 2-1. Then on serve to a tiebreak where Federer was special.

If you have the match taped or Tivo’d, and you can only watch two points, catch the 4th and 5th points on the second set tiebreak. They were Federer at his best. At 2-1 Blake, James played a magnificent point, striking a huge return of serve that Federer calmly half-volleyed. Blake then struck two more shots that would be winners against all but the great One. Federer calmly answered each and finally put the point away with an overhead.

At 2-2, Federer was in command of the point only to see Blake unleash a terrific array of defense. Fed struck 3 winners that all came back. Does he get frustrated? No, rather he kept striking winner after winner until Blake could only helplessly above.

The tiebreak went to Federer and despite a late third-set kick from Blake, so did the match. James had nothing to lament, like his friend Andy Roddick; even their best has not been good enough against Federer.
 
Now on to Djokovic, who easily took out David Ferrer. The Serb does know what it’s like to beat Federer (Montreal last August) and challenge him at a Slam (the Open final.)

Novak wobbled through the end of last season but looks refreshed in Australia. He hasn’t been challenged with the benefit of facing a spent Lleyton Hewitt in the 16’s and the overachieving Ferrer in the quarters.

Most importantly, he already has the quality that Blake needed to (and did) show against Federer — fearlessness. Djokovic need not be reminded of Federer’s greatness, or the fact that he can be beaten. That mental hurdle that Novak has already cleared may be his biggest edge heading into the semis.